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It's difficult to define "good music." People say consistently, constantly, incessantly, "I like good music. I listen to the greatest music. I'll only listen to the best music." But what is this good music that everyone's talking about? How do you define good music? I think one definition that everyone can agree on is: that good music can be listened to by a large audience and accepted, that good music can transcend our society's barriers, that good music breeds talent from talented, versatile musicians, and that good music is pretty damn fun to listen to.
Bam Bam, of Monterrey, Mexico, accomplishes all of the above, and do so fluently with the release of their brand new, debut, self-titled album. These fun folks play an eclectic style of progressive, but extremely textured indie rock with a Mexican flair. Regular readers will remember them from
the article featuring them for South By Southwest. It just so happens that just before their march into Austin, they released their debut album to the public. And the results were fabulous.
First off,
Bam Bam has a unique style in which the band can thrive with their creativity, molding amazing hits. They tease their listeners, giving their building, breathing album the powerful introduction that is "Oro Flash." Then it's straight to business with solid songs dipped in indie rock perfection. No gimmicks with these songs; Bam Bam keeps it simple with incredibly well textured songs throughout the entire album. Their style is fast paced and thorough, but not too eccentric and esoteric to deter the average listener. In fact, Bam Bam makes hits that are infinitely magnetic, drawing listeners from far and wide.
Secondly, they transcend our society's barriers. Oh, did I not mention? When I said Bam Bam is from Monterrey, I meant it. 100% of their songs' lyrics are in Spanish. While some have started poring through Spanish-[insert language] dictionaries or are ready to invest in the purchase to find the poetic meanings of these wonderful songs, Bam Bam's music is universal. The draw from catchy songs like "Trepebalcones" can have anyone dancing and dying to sing along, whether you're from the United States, Russia, or Japan.
Third, no band, especially one releasing their debut album, could get by without a little help from each other.
Bam Bam is a group effort, and it shows in spades. The quartet uses every instrument in their arsenal, creating everything from slow moving wonders like "Si Viviera En Paris," hits that sound like they already sound as if they belong on the radio, like "Por Favor No Vuelvas A Nacer," and true finales, as shown in "Astrobilly."
Fourth, did I mention their music is pretty damn fun?
Bam Bam has a solid run of seven incredibly strong songs that will keep your ears begging for more after the album ends at nearly 30 minutes, which need I remind is a very impressive feat for any sort of debut. The band truly shines with their unique style ever-reminiscent of J-Rock band, The Pillows, with amazing tracks such as "Hi-Q." The shining moment of
Bam Bam is "Sin Las Patas Traseras," which sounds like the Mexican version of long lost Canadian-twin song, "Superconnected" by Broken Social Scene, as Bam Bam allows the song to lavish in huge, sheer, speaker-breaking walls of sound and wild dissonance, proving that they can easily stand nose to nose with true veterans in the field.
The true spirit of
Bam Bam's debut is that of wild parties, tonnes of energy, ecstatic atmosphere, and the best music to be heard from Central America. Released on March 19th, via
Nene Records of Monterrey, Mexico, the album is presently available through the Nene Record website for
free download. You can also snag yourself physical copy of
Bam Bam if you get in contact with lead vocalist/guitarist Mou at [mou@gmail.com]. This is an album of 2008 that you are definitely not going to want to miss, from a band that proves Mexico has a fair point to make with their own brand of indie rock.
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