Mint Field’s Nuevo Sol Video

This wonderful new track from Mexico’s Mint Field floated out yesterday, but as I love the band’s growth, I’m totally enamored with the way they’re letting their psychedelic tendencies trickle into a more textured brand of pop. I love the way this track had this tickling guitar note that faded away into a more nuanced atmosphere, leaving tons of space for the vocals to levitate in your speakers. For the most part, the track lives in that space, suspended in a moment of time glowing with melody through the darkness; it will surely have you sinking deep into the song, so leave breadcrumbs so as not to get lost. Aprender a Ser is out on October 27th via Felte Records.

Mint Field Announce Aprender a Ser, Share Video

Seeing as I spent a lot of time with Estrella del Sol‘s LP earlier this year, I can definitely hear where Mint Field‘s sonic shifts in sound might have sprouted. But, that being said, even their psychedelic rock from their early releases felt like it was touching on more of an explorative or ambient brand of the genre. This single embraces this sort of musical dispersion, like you’ve immersed the notes in water and they begin to drift towards the edges of the track. Yet, they’re all tethered by this tribal beat, echoing, thumping in the distance, holding the song in place. All of this space is there, setting up the mystic tones of the vocals, almost like the last gasps of air, which may tie into the track’s title “El Suspiro Cambia Todo.” They’re taking a breath, so it seems, letting the music take them whichever way it can go; this is what we’re to expect from Aprender a Ser, out on October 27th via Felte Records.

Chill Vibes From Otra Vez

Nathan and I were both huge fans of the debut self-titled LP from Mexico City based Petite Amie which came out around this time last year. It hit heavy rotation on our playlists and even featured in some of our year end lists from 2021. Since then, we haven’t heard much from the band so I was of course excited to receive this new single “Otra Vez” yesterday afternoon. It features a band on much more of an experimental, almost chillwave journey of melodies, bass lines, and an overall groovy feel. I am very much enjoying it this morning.

Petite Amie will also be touring the States this fall. Full dates can be found here.

Howless Release Video for Unlucky

The forthcoming debut from Mexico City’s Howless is pretty high upon my list of things to come down the pipeline, and with their latest single, they step up their sound a bit here, adding in some anthemic pop flare. At first, the angular guitar work shimmers, bringing in this natural hook that’s inescapable. But, the more I listen, the more that Dominique’s vocal performance, combined with the guitars and rhythm, builds this anxiety that plays right into the lyrical concept of “self-sabotage;” there’s this edge that both listener and narrator are tight-roping upon, unsure which side of the coin will land. It’s this sort of attention to detail that allows the band to toy with the darker concepts while offering dreamy soundscapes with pop references. To Repel Ghosts will be out this Friday via Static Blooms Records.

Howless Share Rain and Ice Video

It’s really great to see that labels and folks around the world are reaching into the Mexican music scene, with Mexico City’s Howless being one of the more recent acts I’ve been enjoying. They’re offering up a pretty traditional post-punk meets dream pop sound, touching on those gaze guitar sounds. They’re softening the edges perfectly, however, which gives the melodic nature the dominating feature of the track, all before it brings in this heavy instrumental breakdown that leads into this soaring haunt of a vocal to close the tune out. The band will release their new album, To Repel Ghosts, on February 18th via Static Blooms Records.

Howless Announce Debut LP

Mexico City is a great hub for art and culture, and its been great to see that start to make its way across into the States the last few years. Today, we’re sharing this track from Howless, a four-piece band specializing in blending noisy bits of shoegaze with the dreamier side of today’s pop music. This song begins on the pop side, using these crisp guitar lines and punctuated rhythm work that gives off the feel of New Order or the Cure; they stay here for a little bit, bringing up the melodic moments to the front of the track. The vibe gets matched with some old footage of exuberant dancers having the time of their lives, much as we hope the band is doing. Once the tune hits the 2 minute mark the noisier elements start to take over, washing the song in this heavy crash of shimmering guitar noise; I appreciate that they’ve let that blend in gradually, rather than just the typical climactic crash. If you’re digging it, the band release To Repel Ghosts via Static Blooms Records in February!

Los Blenders Release Mazunte 2016

Los Blenders are a group of young men from the Mexico City borough of Coapa who have been making music together for close to 10 years. Thought they’ve spent quite a bit of time together, the band has maybe flown just a bit under your musical radar. Tomorrow, September 25th, the band will drop their 3rd full length LP Mazunte 2016 via all streaming platforms and for purchase on bandcamp. I was fortunate enough to speak with the band about the new album and you can read the Q&A after the jump. We’ve also been given a new song to stream from the album prior to the release date tomorrow. Check it out!

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Los Blenders Announce Mazunte 2016

I’m really grateful for the resurrection of Devil in the Woods as a label; they’ve already introduced me to some great acts, and they’re back with another one that apparently should have been on my radar: Mexico City’s Los Blenders. The band maintain their influences fall between surf and punk, but you’d be remiss if you didn’t catch just a little bit of that indiepop jangle in the guitars; the notes are sharp as a knife, making your tap your toes as the melodic vocals circle about your head. In fact, this is definitely an indiepop number, and I’m not shying away from that statement! The band will release Mazunte 2016 on September 25th.

Mint Field Announce Signing to Felte Records with Natural

Back when Mint Field released Pasar de las Luces the band was living in Tijuana, crafting these spaced-out psychedelic tunes; they were one of the highlights of my 2018 SXSW. Now, they’ve moved to Mexico City, signed to Felte Records and prepared a brand new single for us. Our first listen has some obvious changes in the band’s sound, though not entirely stepping away form where we first heard them. Here, they’ve sort of flipped the script…instead of filling the negative space with atmospherics and noise, they’ve just left it completely open, letting the notes resonate in that emptiness. There’s a burst of their old selves coming through at the 2 minute mark, but the song seems to move in a more meditative state, much like the tune’s accompanying video. Still, as interesting as ever.

MUUK Share Seis Ausente

It’s seems strange to me that we cover so much music from Canada, yet our closest neighbor (here in Texas at least) gets minimal coverage. But, thanks to Devil in the Woods returning, I’ve been turned on to some great tunes, like this new single from Mexico City’s MUUK. It’s an instrumental number that works with sort of four distinct movements. At first, you get sort of a lost radio message, something that seems to hiss at you from the past. Then the song drops in, guitars sharpening themselves over ambient noises, building on the pulse of electronics. We venture into a soft respite with a meandering guitar chord sort of skittering about while the percussive element and soundbites intoxicate the listener. It all crashes down emphatically with the heavier hand coming in the song’s final quarter, releasing all the song’s earlier tension in one final closing moment.

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