Record Rack

*** / Latin Playboys, “Dose,” Atlantic. The Los Lobos offshoot opens its second album with “Fiesta Erotica,” a world-industrial-ethno-techno-orchestral instrumental that pits power-tool whoosh and whirl against clacking techno drums and a bagpipe-like melody line. It’s a fittingly mind-altering portal to the Latin Playboys’ world, a musical dream state grounded in earthy reality, a series of realistic vignettes with a surreal spin.

Los Lobos’ David Hidalgo and Louie Perez, joined in the group by the experimental-minded record producers Mitchell Froom and Tchad Blake, extend the premise of their 1994 debut, conveying the sheer exuberance of full creative freedom.

Playful and challenging, anything-goes but never excessive or indulgent, “Dose” is sonic sorcery of the first order, investing atmosphere with meaning and giving each narrative--a cryptic portrait of a young woman, a festive outing with a family in Dad’s beloved pickup truck, a contemplation on race and mortality--a distinctive atmosphere.

It’s muy intoxicating, but for some reason the Playboys (who play March 31 at the Galaxy Theatre and April 1 at the Hollywood Athletic Club) cut you off in mid-buzz. “Dose” clocks in at 35 minutes, barely more than half a CD’s capacity. You can’t measure a work of art by its duration, but in this case, length matters.

Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent). The albums are already released unless otherwise noted.