A recent story on Mexico's up-and-coming music scene in The New York Times exposed a number of great new bands rising up through online outlets like MySpace. I'm ashamed to admit it, but who knew Mexico had such a powerful indie rock community??? I didn't. But Chikita Violenta actually don't sound at all like they're from Mexico City. Their English is perfect in the vocals and the music sounds a helluva lot like Broken Social Scene. It makes sense considering they recorded their second album up here in Toronto with in-house BSS producer/member Dave Newfeld. The album's name? The Stars & Suns Sessions - named after Newfeld's studio. "Laydown" has the same loose, alt-jam-band feel to it that BSS have patented in their time. The handclaps are all over the elastic rhythm section, the melodies soar through the group vocals, and as you can guess, there are many, many layers of sonic goodness piled onto the production heap. They say imitation is the greatest form of flattery, but hey, let's not even go there - this young band can hold their own. Let's hope BSS's label have the sense to release this north of the Mexican border.
Chikita Violenta "Laydown"
Chikita Violenta "Laydown"
