Released: 17/08/09

The Bronx: enfants terrible of the Los Angeles hardcore punk scene; wunderkinds of saw-toothed guitar riffs; shrill-voiced exponents of punk-rock aesthetics and… erm…Mexican mariachi band. It’s not exactly a well-seasoned career move but the accordingly re-branded El Bronx’s exchange of piercings and tattoos for sombreros and silver-studded Charro suits is admirable if not conventional.

When a TV appearance required the tempering of their more raucous sonic tendencies, they snubbed the concept of a banal ‘acoustic’ reworking, turning instead to the effervescent lilt of Mexican folk tradition. What started as a playful fix became an unanticipated passion spurring lead singer Matt Caughthran to describe their new foray as like “discovering a second soul”. Two years later sees culmination in the form of Mariachi El Bronx, the fourth eponymously titled LP from the band.

It’s difficult to know how to reconcile this album: an authentic mariachi effort or an expression of punk nihilism? It would be tempting to brand it novelty if there wasn’t such an implicit sense of genuine integrity within its dissident charm. Album opener and first single Cell Mates sets the scene, a quintessential mariachi fanfare segues into harmonised vocals and absorbing string orchestration. Sleepwalking could easily be the trite, down-tempo number in the punk album of a parallel dimension, exorcising crooning romantic demons. Instead, with the percussive shuffle of drummer Jorma Vik and high-pitched ripple of the vihuela guitar, its emotionality is bequeathed a tropical lilt fit for blue waters and floral wreath necklaces.

This is a band doing something completely different, doing it with success and without contrivance. Hearts and souls are tied up in this experiment, made evident by the consummate musicianship, considered lyricism and a delivery which fuses norteno, bolero, jarocho and the many dialects of mariachi music with eloquent and distinguished (if more than a little refrained than their staple) rockish vocals.

Musical Prozac for over-exerted punks or avant-garde for mustachioed hombres; Mariachi El Bronx is MTV Unplugged revamped for the 21st Century.

www.thebronxxx.com

Nemo