Los Lobos has never been a band to ride on its reputation, which includes a litany of critical ' ooohs ' and ' ahhs ', almost yearly Grammy nominations, countless sold-out concerts and numerous well-received soundtracks. That said, the band's latest, Colossal Head, raises the stakes once more.

Los Lobos' 20-plus- year history encompasses punk rock, traditional rhythms, straight ahead rock 'n roll and R&B grooves. The band mixes those roots together seamlessly in Colossal Head. "I think," says Steve Berlin quietly, "that we are the sole purveyors of what we do. I don't think that there is anyone else out there who sounds like us. I'm very proud of that."

He should be. From the funk groove and reflective lyrics of "Revolution" to the driving, insistent rock 'n roll of the first single, " Mas Y Mas ," to the more traditional " Maricela ," to the feel-good funk of "Life Is Good" and "This Bird's Gonna Fly," Los Lobos new album Colossal Head is an E-ticket ride.

The energy of this Los Lobos album reflects the breathtaking pace of the recording. Due to a spate of commitments (near constant touring, scoring the film Desperado, Feeling Minnesota and somehow recording an album for children), Colossal Head was recorded from start to finish in a window of less than six weeks. That put more than a little pressure on the songwriters (Louie Perez co-wrote eight of the eleven tracks with David Hidalgo; Cesar Rosas contributes the rest).

"This came together very fast," says Louie Perez. "We were working really fast. We couldn't second guess ourselves. I would be writing something in the studio lounge, and it was like 'Are you ready to record that yet?' It was a lot like TV. But I really think that the first thought is usually the best thought." The time frame reflects the overall attitude of Los Lobos' new album Colossal Head: Less is more. Less time. Less second guessing. Less wasted time. Less technology. David Hidalgo observes, "When we recorded Kiko (the band's widely heralded last studio album), we fooled around a lot with going from hi fi to lo fi . This time we were trying to combine the two to get a clear and grainy sound. A lot of the credit goes to Mitchell Froom and Tchad Blake. We've worked together so long that they've almost become like one of us."

Froom and Blake, who along with Los Lobos, produced this album have worked on other Lobos outings. They encourage the band's by-now-ingrained habit of experimentation. "We changed around the way we wrote this album," says Perez. "We used to write melody first, and let that dictate the lyrics. Lately we've been doing it the other way around. I've been reading a lot of Chinese literature; it's so sparse. In some way, that's a logical transition into our music." Adds Berlin, "We had to boil everything down to its essence and that makes everything more experimental. That's what keeps it exciting." And that is the real key to Colossal Head. Los Lobos is enthralled with the music as they want their listeners to be. "Hey, it's got to be different!" states Cesar Rosas. "Who would want to make the same record over and over again? That would be so boring!"

Obviously, not Los Lobos!