Search - El Gran Silencio :: Super Riddim Internacional 1 (Dig)

A lot of Mexican Alternative rock bands are a lot like their American counterparts, with their power chords and flashy guitar licks. Thankfully, that's not the case with this energetic ensemble, which hails from Monterrey, Mexico. Of course, they rock out with the best of them, but they also fuse musical idioms from the Caribbean, South America and their own country iinto their sizzling sonic stew. With Hernandez brothers, Tony and Cano fronting on guitars and vocals, the band, whose name means "The Grand Silence" in English, shows us of how to make multilingual, bordless music. "Recuerdo De Lluvia" is motored with the Arabic darbuka drum, while the title track, the Colombian-influenced "Cumbia Muffin" and the peppery huanpango--grooved "Venadito Callejero" are laced with spicy Jamaican ska/dancehall/rap-style lyrics. Their music may be global, but their song speaks for the so-called Chúntaros, the poor youth of Northeast Mexico. Through El Gran Silencio, their voices are silent no more. --Eugene Holley, Jr.