When it comes to making music, Los Lonely Boys try to keep it real.

“We tried to record it like we were playing on tour. We tried to capture that vibe. We’re really proud of it,” Ringo Garza, one-third of the Grammy-winning Los Lonely Boys, said of the group’s latest albumForgiven, released July 1.

Los Lonely Boys, a trio of brothers from San Angelo — guitarist and lead vocalist Henry, bassist JoJo and drummer Ringo — were in Austin recently putting the finishing touches on its upcoming Christmas album.

The brothers were recording at pal Willie Nelson’s Pedernales Studios, where in 2003 they recorded their breakthrough self-titled debut album.

Los Lonely Boys will help Nelson celebrate July Fourth during his annual celebration, which is at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater this year. The brothers, who join Los Lobos on tour later this summer, will perform songs from Forgiven.

The album is the follow-up to the band’s 2006 album Sacred, which failed to live up to the critical and commercial success of their debut CD.

“The second was just as good, but timing is everything,” Ringo Garza said in a recent phone interview from Austin. “We didn’t write it to be a hit.”

On Forgiven, the brothers wrote all but one song, something that came easily for them, Garza said.

“It’s the same recipe for the other two albums,” Garza said, describing the group’s song-writing process. “We all get together and do what we do. Something will spark a song or an idea. Something usually comes out during sound check.”

Melissa Rentería | 210SA contributor