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Maneja Beto
When I moved to Austin, I never thought I'd see a band like Maneja Beto -- true purveyors of that unique genreless masala of sounds and influences known as rock en espanol -- come out of this city. Los Angeles, maybe, or Mexico City -- but Austin? Coming from a Far West Texas border town, where traditional Mexican music and rock y pop all blend into a comfortable melange, Maneja Beto's actual sound was no surprise -- as a matter of fact, it seemed long overdue. Cafe Tacuba and Ozomatli are on the same wavelength -- rock en espanol with a political bent. But it's Maneja Beto's synthesis of traditional Texican music, the darker and sentimental edges of 80's English pop favorites Joy Division, The Cure, and The Smiths (which honestly, aren't so far from the same emotions behind traditional Mexican music), and Afro-Cuban rhythms that makes their music such a unique proposition.
Maneja Beto takes the purest form of Tejano music -- the conjunto -- usually played, in this day and age, by a dance band featuring accordions, synthesized percussion, and other modern instruments along with traditional Mexican guitars like the jarana huasteca and huarpaguanera -- and turns the genre on its head. The band transforms the synths and guitars (from lead singer Alex Chavez and Nelson Valente on lead guitar) into something a little more on the 80's dark Britpop edge and brings a rhythm section to rival that of No Wave darlings ESG or some of the "exotic" Afro-Cuban-infused orchestras of the 50's and 60's: Bobby Garza on timbales, Patrick Estrada behind the drum kit, and Will Schultz on bass.
Emotionally, the band's original songs hearken back to the heartbreak of the traditional Mexican ballads, but brings them up to date -- touching on immigration issues and other aspects of the border culture that are becoming more familiar to the rest of the world due to the current political climate. Alex Chavez's gorgeous, emotive voice is perfectly suited to carry the band's heartwrenching ballads and love songs as well as their signature New Wave covers (including Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart" and the Talking Heads' "Once in a Lifetime") that could only come from musicians equally beholden to the traditional and the modern.
Just as the title of their album so succinctly puts it: Para que las paredes no se aburran -- so the walls don't get bored -- be they walls of cultural borders (ideological or political), or merely the walls of your own dreary existence, which could probably do with a fresh coat of bright paint -- Maneja Beto would only be too happy to assist you with a little elucidation or renovation.
Maneja Beto - Son De Amor
Maneja Beto - A Ver
Maneja Beto's official website; you can hear more songs there as well. Buy para que las paredes no se aburran from Austin's independent music stores or online at CD Baby. The band plays Wednesday, March 15 at 11pm at Opal Divine's Freehouse, and has a number of free show appearances scheduled as well.
Shadows tags:manejabeto.
Posted by Little Miss Rock'n'Roll at 03.07.06 at 11:44 PM
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