It's no slight to soulfully versatile frontman Adrian Zamarripa to say that saxophonist Israel Oviedo is really the gripping lead voice on El Sueño Americano. It's his shamelessly melodramatic and lushly retro style that elevates La Energia Norteña's pop-leaning románticas, while also pushing the lively sextet into wild bursts of genre-bending whimsy. "Quiero Ser" drops an unexpectedly rocking display of '80s power-ballad riffing into what had previously been a gently strummed corrido, while Oviedo's electrifying showcase on "Sólo Tú" evokes the gloriously over-the-top emotion of vintage R&B sax players.