Hacienda

Shakedown (Collective Sounds)

Having nailed its Tex-Mex spin on garage rock & soul with 2010’s Big Red & Barbacoa, Hacienda altered that musical brand the third time around. Unfortunately, the San Antonio quartet takes so many turns throughout Shakedown that the group’s lost its sense of direction. The rhythm still drives the band, with big beats and big bass on tunes like opener “Veronica” and “You Just Don’t Know.” Meantime, the fuzzed-up Sixties dive of “Let Me Go” chugs hard and straightforward, yet lost in the bottom-heavy mix are compelling harmonies. “Don’t Turn Out the Light” plays more toward the Eighties behind the oddly Cure-like opening, and lead single “Savage” glams like a mellower MGMT. With Dan Auerbach returning as producer and also now claiming co-writing credits, the album plays toward the Black Keys’ ethos, but Shakedown never gains its footing.

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This article appears in August 24 • 2012.

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