Photo by Jerry Robinson |
This Friday Mariachi El Bronx, the alter ego of punk rock legends The Bronx, will release Mariachi El Bronx IV via ATO. The Los Angeles band’s first album in over a decade celebrates the rich Hispanic music and culture woven into the fabric of their hometown through 12 songs that follow gamblers, aging playboys, warriors, and lovers wrestling with the complexities of contemporary life.
Today they share the final single ahead of the album’s release, ‘Songbird,’ a track that confronts a creative hurdle many artists face: writer’s block. Frontman Matt Caughthran was deep in a period of creative exhaustion when longtime collaborator Vincent Hidalgo – son of Los Lobos’ David Hidalgo – hit on a pulse-quickening guitar line in the studio.
Caughthran and the Hidalgo family’s musical orbit goes back decades. He first met Vincent and his brother David Jr. in high school, where the three began playing music together, laying the foundation for a creative relationship that’s now spanned more than 30 years. After decades of collaboration, the spark was instant and to Caughthran, Vincent’s riff sounded like a hummingbird flapping its wings – the same bird he’d been watching outside his writing window as he stared down a blank page. The block faded instantly as lyrics poured out of his brain: “I was staring at another empty page / Feeling every single second of my age.” The video for ‘Songbird’ was directed by Blaise Cepis
Mariachi El Bronx have previously shared ‘Bandoleros,’ a Norteño-charged rallying cry, and the band will be performing the song on Jimmy Kimmel Live! this Thursday, February 12, marking their 2nd time on the show. Before that they released ‘Forgive or Forget,‘ which premiered on KCRW’s ‘Morning Becomes Eclectic,’ and ‘RIP Romeo.’ Together they have drawn attention from Stereogum, Alternative Press, Brooklyn Vegan, Revolver, MXDWN, and others. Fans can now order a physical 7″ of “Forgive or Forget” b/w ‘Bandoleros’ here.
Mariachi El Bronx is Matt Caughthran (vocals), Joby J. Ford (guitar, vihuela, accordion), Jared Shavelson (drums), Keith Douglas (trumpet), Ray Suen (violin), Brad Magers (trumpet), Ken Horne (jarana), and Vincent Hidalgo (guitarrón)
Tracklisting
- Forgive or Forget
- Bandoleros
- Songbird
- All Things
- El Dorado
- Fools Gold
- The Takers
- RIP Romeo
- Gambler’s Prayer
- El Borracho
- Tie You Down
- Into The Afterlife
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