The Krayolas

La Conquistadora (Box)

After nearly two decades of dormancy, San Antonio pop quartet the Krayolas sprang back to life last year with retrospective Best Riffs Only. Teenage brothers Hector and David Saldaña formed the group in 1975 on a foundation of Rickenbacker riffs and British Invasion harmonies, but their hometown’s musical bouillabaisse is what makes the newly recorded La Conquistadora so engaging. With organist Augie Meyers and the West Side Horns, the Krayolas channel the spirit of Sir Doug Sahm and jump around from wistful, gum-smacking pop (“Statue of Love”) to big-band blues (“Yakety Song”). The Meyers-penned “We’ve Got a Secret” is the Alamo City’s answer to “I Should Have Known Better,” while the Tex-Mex infusions of “Little Fox” and the folkloric title track complement the Texas Tornados like a Big Red complements a puffy taco. Power-pop is still the Krayolas’ driving force, but the many moods of La Conquistadora make the trip worth taking.

***.5

This article appears in June 6 • 2008.

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Greg Beets was born in Lubbock on the day Richard Nixon was elected president. He has covered music for the Chronicle since 1992, writing about everyone from Roky Erickson to Yanni. Beets has also written for Billboard,Uncut, Blurt, Elmore, and Pop Culture Press. Before his digestive tract cried uncle, he co-published Hey! Hey! Buffet!, an award-winning fanzine about all-you-can-eat buffets.