Think of an album by Raul Malo as something akin to a book — and something of a thriller, at that.
Malo has moved way beyond his work as the frontman of the Mavericks, as is especially clear on his latest album “Sinners and Saints.” The songs on the album are a swirl of Latin sounds, flamenco accents and rock.
“When I start writing, I don’t think about where it comes from or how it starts,” he said. “It’s a strange process for me. I more observe things and then, hopefully, put pen to paper.”
Yet Malo did more than that exploring his very earliest musical influences — all the way back to when he was an infant — and experimenting with various instrumentation on the songs. As Malo went along, he found that the songs became more topical and expressed his opinion on a host of issues all stemming from an eye toward tomorrow instead of living for one day.
“It’s a negative we don’t live for tomorrow,” he said. “That’s where the financial crisis, fuel crisis and other [issues] arise. I know there are smarter people than myself can poke holes in this argument, but I think as a concept it’s pretty solid.”
What that means musically is an array of sounds that all swirl together into one lush musical flavor with hints of the Tex-Mex that Malo has absorbed in Austin. From his originals “San Antonio Baby” and “Superstar” to his interpretation of Rodney Crowell’s “‘Til I Gain Control Again,”
the songs tell stories in mainly upbeat, sometimes affectionate ways. Yet the songs also reflect Malo’s observations of the world today.
“We are living in some crazy times. Reason and accountability are no longer part of the vernacular,” he said. “I’m not making a political statement. But whether you are a Republican or Democrat, there are people being left behind. When one out of seven people are living below the poverty line, those aren’t strangers. They are people you know. … That was the process of this record, I thought a lot about these issues,” he said.
In his local show, Malo said, he’ll play plenty from his new album as well as a few choice songs from the Mavericks and some other old favorites.
“There are always a couple surprises, too,” he said. “Things that no one is expecting, sometimes not even the band.”
