25 Bandazos de Machos, Vol. 1

Banda is a regional Mexican music, played by large ensembles featuring keyboards and multiple horns, and frequently sporting cowboy hats, mustaches, and awesome uniforms. One of the most popular groups in the genre, La Banda el Recodo, has 18 members. Banda Machos are a slightly more modest group, with only 14 musicians, but their sound is vibrant and fun, guaranteed to inspire drinking and dancing. Songs like "La Culebra," "Al Gato y al Raton," and "Casimira" are upbeat and high-spirited, the horns blaring out simple yet addictive melodies as the drummer keeps everything moving fast, though they perform ballads from time to time (examples here include "Un Indio Quiere Llorar" and "Mi Luna, Mi Estrella"). The lyrics are mostly about love, dancing, and partying, avoiding the political and social narratives of the smaller-group, guitar- and accordion-led music known as norteño. This compilation is half of a matched set, and its title is somewhat misleading: only if you also purchase Vol. 2 (as a panel on the cover advises) do you get a total of 25 songs; Vol. 1 only contains 13 tracks. These discs are low-budget offerings; the CD booklet is just a single panel, with no musicians' credits or even photos of the group anywhere to be found. It's barebones in the extreme, and its track listing is pretty much duplicated on a number of preexisting Banda Machos compilations. That being said, if this is your first experience with their music, or banda in general, the appeal will still come through loud and clear.