Pistolera

Defining their music as "Latin alt-folklorico," Brooklyn quartet Pistolera fuse traditional Mexican folk forms like rancheras and corridos to contemporary indie rock styles. Singer and guitarist Sandra Lilia Velasquez, accordion player Maria Elena, bassist Inca B. Satz, and drummer Ani Cordero are like Los Lobos for the indie generation, or perhaps a first step for indie rockers who find the likes of Manu Chao too forbidding. Formed in late 2004, the quartet began on New York's indie-world music fusion scene alongside acts like Gypsy punks Gogol Bordello and neo-Afro-beat big band Antibalas, then quickly graduated to the worldwide folk festival circuit. Following a well-received live EP from the summer of 2005, Pistolera's self-released debut album, Siempre Hay Salida (There's Always a Way Out, roughly), was released to favorable reviews in the fall of 2006.