by Jenny Gage

Even without the reference to Steven Spielberg's kiddie hit The Goonies in the title of La Oreja de Van Gogh's second album, it wouldn't be too hard to date the childhoods of the five college buddies from San Sebastian to the mid-'80s. Lead singer Amaia Montero's giddy soprano and "ooo-sha-la-la" choruses turn El Viaje de Copperpot (Copperpot's Journey) into a trip down new wave-nostalgia-lane, back to the days when the Go-Go's ruled the airwaves and "Vacation" was all they ever wanted. So what if the lyrics all sound a little like verses written by a graduating senior in her ex-boyfriend's yearbook, and the music like something they maybe danced to at the prom? If there are those who would spurn either the memory or the hope of young love, they probably aren't from Spain, where singles "Cuídate" (Take Care of Yourself) and "Paris" became every couple's favorite song, and where "La Playa"'s (The Beach) promise to "write (the listener) the most beautiful song in the world" was understood as its own fulfillment. It's catchy stuff, love. Why resist?