Album DescriptionLas Rubias del Norte?s new CD, Panamericana, draws its inspiration from all across the Americas, and plays like a dreamy soundtrack where cha-cha-cha?s and boleros mix with classical harmonies. The result is a collection of thirteen songs, each of which is a "sparkling gem" (The New Yorker.) Some of the tunes included on the album have been heard the world over, some are known solely within their regional borders, while others have hardly ever been heard at all. They include Volver, Volver, a Mexican ranchera anthem of sorts; the Peruvian Huayno Corazon, Corazon, heard by chance in a small Andean town. Despedida written by Venezuelan composer Simon Diaz as well as Peruvian Vals Criollos, a Colombian Cumbia, a Cowboy song and a latinized version of Le Temps de l'Amour, an early hit for French Yéyé star Francoise Hardy. Despite the continental hopscotching, the striking aspect of Panamericana is its homogeneity. The album flows from song to song, from country to country, never giving in to the dangers of imitation or to the lure of false authenticity. Las Rubias have created an unmistakably original sound which only distantly owes to the various genres it covers. In the end, their music remains a nostalgic throwback to a time and place mostly imagined. Panamericana was recorded by Andy Taub, mixed by Mark Plati (David Bowie, Brazilian Girls) and features a stellar cast of guest musicians including keyboardist Anthony Coleman, Vibraphonist Matt Moran, clarinetist Oscar Noriega, accordionist Josh Camp and Gypsy Swing guitarist Stephane Wrembel.