In preparation for their third album, Mexican electro-pop outfit Kinky [ tickets ] relocated to a beach house in Malibu, CA. The result is "Reina," an album that's as up-tempo and boogie-down as the band's earlier efforts, only this time lead singer Gil Cerezo sounds slightly more comfortable delivering his vocals in English rather than his native Spanish.

Kinky remains energetic as ever. "Reina" reaffirms that the five-piece knows how to smartly mix rock and roll with rave-inspired blips and bleeps--and lace it all with fun-loving Latin flavor. But while the tunes remain the same--and that's a good thing where Kinky is concerned--the awkward phrasing from Cerezo can be distracting. On "Again And So On," he sings, "I'm leeving and I'm leeving it up!!" (Undoubtedly, American audiences will be more accustomed to the rock-and-roll pronunciation: Livin'.)

On their previous album, "Atlas," Kinky wrangled guest spots from John McCrea, Cake's frontman. On "Reina," the group invites former Men at Work singer Colin Hay into the rave tent on "Monday Killer," a song that sounds like Son-of-"Lowrider." Strangely, it works.

Anytime the group offers their Spanish bursts of electro-pop or--even better--their propulsive instrumentals, everything works. That's true on tracks "Una Linea De Luz" and "A Donde Van Los Muertos." These songs are smashing--echoing the masterpieces of the group's assured, self-titled 2002 debut. "Reina" also sees Kinky stretching for radio-ready singles, as on the Gorillaz-esque "I Say Hey" or the awkward "Nothing Really." In these moments, the group stumbles a bit.

Still, Kinky has so effortlessly developed its own sound and style--melding accordion with techno ain't no easy feat--on "Reina," the group gets more comfortable in its sound and its new country.