Sacred.

SACRED Los Lonely Boys (Sony Music, 2006)

From the Spanglish mash-up of their name and their lyrics, to the music's uplifting fusion of blues guitar, R&B horns, and conjunto accordion, Los Lonely Boys are an American band for the 21st century. You first heard them in 2004 when their inspirational single "Heaven" and a self-titled CD hovered near the top of the pop charts. Now they're back with a second album that proves the twentysomething Garza brothers, who comprise the band, are nobody's one-hit wonder.

Henry, JoJo, and Ringo Garza are San Angelo, Texas Chicanos who cut their musical teeth backing their father, Enrique, a conjunto and country-western singer who moved his family to Nashville with hopes of following fellow tejanos Freddie Fender and Johnny Rodriguez onto the stage of the Grand Ole Opry.

Enrique Garza never made it big, but his boys did, playing music that owes as much to the late Texas blues guitar wizard Stevie Ray Vaughn as it does to any of their father's training. The Lonely Boys' big break came when they were discovered by septuagenarian country singer Willie Nelson, a fellow Texan who took them on tour and let them cut their first album in his studio. On Sacred, Willie, along with Lonely father, Enrique Garza, takes a verse of the song "Outlaws."

For the 2 million people who bought the first Lonely Boys album, Sacred will hold no great surprises. It features the same ingredients of virtuoso guitar licks, Latin-flavored rhythms, easygoing pop tunes, and sweet fraternal harmony vocals, with the addition of occasional horns and a squeeze box. The lyrics of songs like "Diamonds" (as in "I ain't got no ...") and "My Way" ("Don't tell me how to live my life, don't tell me how to pray ...") are so-so but complement the spirit of the music, which is uplifting and life-affirming. Los Lonely Boys are definitely here to stay.