Re

1	El Aparato 3:19
2	La Ingrata 3:32
3	El Ciclón 2:54
4	El Borrego 2:08
5	Esa Noche 3:26
6	24 Horas 2:19
7	Ixtepec 3:20
8	Tropicó de Cáncer 4:38
9	El Metro 3:46
10	El Fin de la Infancia 2:18
11	Madrugal 1:08
12	Pez 2:18
13	Verde 1:54
14	La Negrita 3:04
15	El Tlatoani del Barrio 3:26
16	Las Flores 2:15
17	La Pinta 2:49
18	El Baile y el Salón 5:08
19	El Puñal y el Corazón 4:21
20	El Balcón 1:40

Barnes & Noble

Despite the now perennial hoopla proclaiming rock en español the "next big thing," Mexico has been rocking for more than 20 years. But only recently has the country produced original talents able to embrace rock on its own terms. Cafe Tacuba's seminal second album, RE, heralded the new era. Art-school rockers from the Mexico City burbs, the Tacubas imbue precise, vulnerable poems with precise, vulnerable instrumentation -- a four piece, they rely on the programming and wind-controlled MIDIs of Meme del Real for beats, live and in the studio. RE's stylistic virtuosity attracted attention outside of Mexico, hopping from polka to punk to boleros to Mexican folkloric rhythms. Diminutive crooner Ruben Albarran (who uses a different pseudonym on each Tacuba album) proved himself capable of delivering a heartrending ballad ("Soledad") as easily as deploying a Boredoms-style noisefest ("El Ciclón"). The combination of layered harmonies and progressively experimental sonic predilections makes RE something of a Mexican answer to the Beach Boys's great, lost SMILE. Mark Schwartz

All Music Guide

For Re, Café Tacuba experimented with different styles and sounds, resulting in one of the most wildly varied releases of the '90s. "El Ciclón" is a clavinet-driven funk track that echoes Billy Preston, while "Esa Noche" is a tender ranchero ballad. The raucous "El Borrego," which simultaneously mocks and salutes other Mexican rock acts (Maldita Vecindad gets a name-check), could give Ministry a run for their money in the electro-metal department. If there is a flaw, it's that the band's reach sometimes exceeds its grasp. The album occasionally seems too ambitious, and the songwriting could stand to be a bit more focused; the band's power is sometimes diluted by the diffuse energy. Still, Re proves that Café Tacuba is lyrically and musically more adventurous than most of its '90s peers. Victor W. Valdivia