Yo No Canto, Pero lo Intentamos (CD - 2009)

Norteno heart-throb Espinoza Paz succeeds by combining traditional sounds (tuba dominates every song here) with tastefully spare production and arrangements that appeal not just to fans of commercial Mexican music, but to world music aficionados as well. This 2009 release--his third--features the romantic and indelibly hooky "¿Lo Intentamos?"

After several years of burning up the Latin charts with his own compositions and, later his own recordings, Espinoza Paz could afford a little humor at his own expense. The title of his second full album even claims he's not a singer, but the tongue-in-cheek hit single "Lo Intentamos" ("We tried it!") proves he's one of the rising stars in banda/norteño. As expected, he wrote each of the ten songs, beginning with a bright banda opener named "Odio Explotar." Paz's vocals may occasionally strain to sustain the high notes on "Cómo Me Das Lástima," but he understands his material far better than those who've sung his songs in the past. As such, Yo No Canto, Pero lo Intentamos became his first album to break into the Billboard album charts. ~ John Bush minimize