The Cruzados - Land of the Endless Sun (Rum Bar)

The 2021 resurrection of the Cruzados by original bassist and co-writer Tony Marsico was already a surprise – how many people even remembered the mid-eighties successor to the Plugz, let alone with fondness? The bigger shock was the She’s Automatic, the new album featuring Little Caesar, Dogs and Slamdinistas guitarist Loren Molinare and Caesar singer Ron Young in place of departed co-founder Tito Larriva, was a damn good slice of rootsy, slightly sleazy rock & roll. So the release of Land of the Endless Sun can and should be greeted with smiles rather than bewilderment. Well, not complete bewilderment, anyway – there is the matter of the record’s content, which consists of five of the best recordings from She’s Automatic, plus six new songs originally released as a digital EP of the same name, plus three live recordings, two of which come from the band’s eighties records. Fortunately, the new and old tracks fit alongside each other just fine – you’d never know Automatic’s Tex-Mex flavored “Let Me Down” and blazing “Nine Million Miles” and Sun’s rootsy “Queen of the Quake” and bluesy title track didn’t come from the same session. Plus it’s a treat to hear a modern update on the original crew’s still rockin’ single “Motorcycle Girl.” Despite Sun’s motley makeup, it’s a good old-fashioned rock & roll time.