Album Mon Jul 07 2008

Album Review: Los Dynamite's Greatest Hits

Bespeaking the cultural effects of globalization via Myspace, Mexican indie act Los Dynamite sings in English, and counts the Clash and the White Stripes among their influences. Oh, and they idolize Interpol, too. This Mexico City band just had their debut at Metro this past Saturday, as part of the INDIEcent Latino music series. Listening to the eleven tracks on their first album, Greatest Hits, it’s hard to imagine these four 20-somethings aren’t the latest indie wonder to emerge from Brooklyn.

Even though they sound American, or anglicized, these guys are pure Mexicano. The band started out as a solo project of Diego Solorzano, who then recruited Eduardo Pacheco, Miguel Hernandez, and Felipe Botello, three of the most prominent indie musicians in Mexico City. Their first single, “TV,” was introduced via the band’s Myspace page, quickly earning them a stable of gigs. It’s not hard to imagine why -- the music is steeped in electronic synth pop sensibility of Daft Punk, yet with the exuberance of well, yes, Interpol. Mexico’s largest cellular company, Telcel, chose “TV” as their main theme song of summer 2005. Other frequently played Greatest Hits played in Mexico: “Ready Read,” “Katonic,” “No me Suelte,” and “Frenzy.”

“Ready Ready” resonates the heady punk influences and detached singing style of the Talking Heads. In contrast, “Frenzy” and “Katonic” exhibit the band’s explosive character. Guitar heavy and swaggering with a sense of unabashed exhibitionism is commonplace. Perhaps that’s what’s most interesting about this band, in terms of their brazen sound and international character: they reflect an amalgam of bands and genres (punk, indie, and electronic) all at once. Los Dynamite has opened for bands like Interpol, Bloc Party, The Killers, Dirty Pretty Things, The Secret Machines, and Radio 4.

— Marla Seidell / Comments (0)