Skip to main content

IN REVIEW: Mariachi el Bronx - "III"


For over a decade, Matt Caughthran and company have been wrecking necks as hardcore stalwarts The Bronx. However, their affinity for mariachi music has been present long enough to warrant their mariachi band alter egos to be treated as a separate entity. Through their surprising 2009 debut and its formidable 2011 follow-up, the project's existence has faced dumbfounded criticism as a mere novelty act.

The thing is (as their second record confirmed), Mariachi el Bronx aren't a novelty act; they display a genuine respect for the mariachi genre, honing their songwriting along the way and creating earnest, honest and fun records. The third doesn't waver from the mission, rarely straying from the script and giving us another faithful representation of the group as mariachi players.

Just as their second mariachi album's sense of melody informed The Bronx's fourth hard rock album, that album's sharpened hooks find their way to this record. Lead single Wildfires is a catchy, punchy song no matter the genre, while High Tide's chorus bursts from the speakers with life. Meanwhile, Caughthran is in top form throughout vocally and lyrically and, as good as the musicians are here, it's his performance that most benefits the songs.

They do throw the occasional curveball, most notably during the first half of Eternal (which is awash in a low, orchestral swell) and the cajun-flavoured Everything Twice. However, inevitably even the detours lead back to the beaten path and, as refreshing as the mariachi sounds have been, there's only so far it can travel without becoming just a bit tiresome.

Still, the effort to get the most out of that core sound is there, and the album remains interesting enough, tapping out at the 37-minute mark before it can wear out its welcome. I still prefer them laying waste to earbuds with loud rock, but with a third album that hits all the expected spots and aspires to reach a little higher Mariachi el Bronx has commanded my respect on its own merits.

November 4, 2014 • ATO
Highlights Wildfires • High Tide • Everything Twice

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Year in Rock 2025

  Alright, I've got some explaining to do.   By now anyone who's visited this blog is well aware of how infrequently I've used this space in recent years; aside from the occasional fertile year of content, I really haven't posted all that often over the last five years or so. There are many reasons for this, which have already been outlined in previous apology posts; but, essentially, it boils down to my own laziness and the cold reality that blogs are, like Refused (again), fucking dead. So, I wouldn't hold my breath for a triumphant return to reviews, or even semi-regular posts, but:   a) I feel like Year in Rock posts have always belonged here and, even though I've experimented with different methods of presentation recently and been satisfied, the "blink and you missed it" unveiling via Facebook stories this year was perhaps ultimately a disservice to the records I lauded. After all, cramming the list into short videos isn't too far off from ju...
Post a Comment
Read more

Year in Rock 2011 Nominee: Sam Roberts Band

SAM ROBERTS BAND I Feel You From: Collider Released: May 10 Having already endured the breakout success ( Brother Down was Canada's it rock song of 2002), the tentative dabbling in the U.S. market, as is the rite of passage for all moderately successful Canuck artists (2003's debut We Were Born in a Flame was the best time to try; one of the best albums of the year, it made a small dent in the American mindset upon its release there a year later), the difficult, druggy third album (the aptly named 2005 disc Chemical City ), and the subdued creative step backward (2008's Love at the End of the World , aside from hit single Them Kids , was really kinda bland), it seems according to script that Sam Roberts would start settling in on his fourth album (and first with the band credited as equal contributors), Collider (you know, I think it was a bad idea to give me brackets). Well, as far as settling in goes, Roberts does and doesn't on Collider .  W...
Post a Comment
Read more

IN REVIEW: Rancid - "Trouble Maker"

As far as punk rock goes, it's hard to name a hotter hot streak than the trio of records Rancid cranked out between 1995 and 2000; the star making ...And Out Come the Wolves , the far-reaching Life Won't Wait and their balls-to-the-wall second self-titled album solidly positioned Rancid as leaders of the second generation of punk. It also preceded a period of slow progression, as Rancid would take eleven years to release their next three records. By the time ...Honor Is All We Know came in 2014, many fans (myself included) had to wonder whether or not this was the end of the road. Such concerns are handily dealt with on the closing track of the standard edition of their ninth record, the positively punishing This Is Not the End . Well, okay then, that's sorted. Now, what of this new record? What do we make of the use of their original logo on the cover, a logo that hasn't graced a Rancid record in 25 years? Is this a throwback to the band's heyday, a new begin...
Post a Comment
Read more