La 5a Estación

When Spanish pop-rock band La 5a Estación decided to stay in Mexico City after a promo tour of their first album, Primera Toma (First Take) in 2001, they probably didn't think it would become the launching pad for their return as multi-platinum selling artists. But when their upbeat "¿Dónde Irán?" (Where Will They Go?) was chosen as the theme song to the teen soap Clase 406, singer-songwriter Natalia Jiménez' romantic lyrics about unfulfilled dreams struck a deep chord with the telenovela's young female audience.

By the time Natalia and her bandmates, fellow madrileños Angel Reyero (guitarist) and Pablo Domínguez (bassist) released their second album in 2004, Flores de Alquiler (Rented Fowers), the band had already cemented their reputation as a chart-topping music act that could write heartfelt songs with plenty of hooks. The album yielded four hit singles that still get plenty of airplay on Mexican radio stations, including the track "Niña", which generated welcome controversy with a video of a teenaged girl who naively experiments with lesbianism and drugs only to end up being gang-banged by two businessmen. Like always.

La 5a Estación recently released their third album, El Mundo Se Equivoca (The World Makes Mistakes), which features slicker production and punchier instrumentation as in their current single, Tu Peor Error. The band sounds brightest on tracks like Me Muero where they combine the horn section of a Mariachi band with cinematic strings. This third time around, La 5a Estación continues to ask the tough questions every teen asks, over and over again, with simultaneously sweet and angst-ridden ballads.