Mariachi Rock!

I’m in love with these Mariachi renditions of Marvin Gaye, The Cure, and Annie Lenox. This album is something else—a really good dream come true.

Brownout: Aguilas and Cobras

Brownout

Brownout gets down y’all! Out of Austin, Texas, this eight-piece band bring soulful funk with percussion, brass, ear grabbing guitar riffs, and flutes. Yeah, flutes! I love flutes and you love flutes (you just don’t know it yet). You can dance to Brownout, or cruise with this new album, Aguilas and Cobras. The slow jams will surely gangster out anyone’s Hybrid—no doubt about that. Check ’em out. Album just dropped. Get it!

Brownout – Olvidalo (MP3)

Brownout – Olvidalo (Youtube)

Rita Indiana Y Los Misterios

Rita Indiana y Los Misterios are a breath of fresh air in this current pollution of Indie music. Don’t get me wrong, I like a lot of the Indie music that’s being produced in Latin-America. My only beef is that a lot of those Indie acts make music with a gaze to The United States and Europe. There’s nothing wrong with that per say, but with such rich music traditions in Latin-America you’d think we’d get more Indie music with Latin-American roots. Instead we get a bunch of young artists that are looking more out than in to inspire their own music and fashion.

Rita Indiana y Los Misterios

But Rita Indiana y Los Misterios ain’t going that route. These Dominican cats have found a perfect balance. Sure they have Indie’s lasers and synths, but they apply them to one of their island’s most beloved musical genres—merengue. Sounds a little strange, but it works. While the music is playful, Rita’s heavy vocal’s demand seriousness. Those same vocals make for a nice laid back Afro-Beat/Latin-American folk track that we’re giving you today, titled, “Jardinera.” Yes, Rita and her band can slow it down too.

Rita Indiana y Los Misterios – Jardinera (MP3)

Rita Indiana y Los Misterios – Jardinera (Youtube)

Song of The Day: Natalia Lafourcade’s “Azul”

Natalia Lafourcade's "Azul"

I’ve been waiting  for Natalia Lafourcade to emerge from the Canadian wilderness  and release her highly anticipated record, Hu Hu Hu. The first single and video from this record is “Azul,” a pretty 6-minute epic with soaring orchestrations and an effervescent sensibility very similar to last year’s instrumental EP, Las 4 Estaciones Del Amor. On “Azul,” Lafourcade wonders openly of being eaten up by time or having her voice stolen by the wind. She admits her fear of nudity and having voyeurs look way, or of being swept away by darknes; of losing her fingers and losing her friends. There is a sense of naivete in her lyrics and in the usage of the xylophone and trumpets as the main instruments, but it’s during the bridge that we understand Lafourcade’s puerile fears. “Azul” isn’t  a song about love, but one that longs for independence, that independence could be from the restraints of unrequited love, of troubled friendships, of damaging family dynamics. Any which way you read it, not many musicians sing about such topics so wonderfully. That’s why it’s our FIRST song of the day and might as well be our song of the year.

Natalia Lafourcade – “Azul” (MP3)

Los Hermanos

Brazil's Los Hermanos

From Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, Los Hermanos blend a little samba and bossa nova with rock, and are usually accompanied by a solid trumpet section. They sound a little like The Strokes (sometimes), and they actually know each other pretty well. See, while both bands are on a hiatus, Rodrigo Amarante from Los Hermanos, and drummer of The Strokes, Fabrizio Moretti, have formed their own band in Los Angeles. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Enjoy these videos from Los Hermanos. We’ll be following up with more from these cool Brazilians and their solo projects. Keep an eye out.

Los Hermanos – Ultimo Romance

Los Hermanos – Morena