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Rating: Something I learned yesterday about Sex Mex.
A couple of days ago, Alien Snatch released the new album; and since Alien Snatch means quality, I listen, appreciate it a lot, and seek some more information, although I’ve already decided that I’m going to buy the record anyway.
If I search for information on Google, it’s better to clarify immediately that it's about a band; and in any case, safe search is there to watch over my innocence.
They come from Alamo in Texas, they've been around for a couple of years, but only a few weeks ago, they stabilized as a four-piece. They've done three albums and about ten EPs; roughly, the albums gather everything from the EPs and something new. The latest album is called “23,” the previous one “22” because it came out last year; who knows why the first one is called “21” even though it was also released in 2022.
On its bandcamp page, Alien Snatch sells me "23" for 6.66 euros – the price of the beast – and instead, they sell me all 14 albums they have made so far, including a tribute to Jay Reatard, for not even 5 euros excluding tax, which I haven’t listened to yet but I already know it deserves attention. So, for 10,000 old lire, I can get the complete discography of Sex Mex on my bandcamp page.
On YouTube, there are 3 videos, one is wonderful, a fast and furious concert, there's not even a stage, about twenty rowdy people 10 centimeters away, no breaks between one track and the next, only the title and one-two-one-two.three-four to pace it all, like the Ramones at CBGB’s in 1974. In recent decades, I had only seen such a beautiful thing done by New Bomb Turks, Gaunt, and Amyl And The Sniffers.
They also have an Instagram page, sexmexsux meaning Sex Mex sucks, and after the concert video, it's the second heart-stopper, that presentation, too pop to sound punk, too punk to sound pop, too young to sound new wave, in short, the Only Ones, and whether the homage is intentional or not, it makes no difference.
Ultimately, they play synth-punk music; the playing field is the same as the immense Screamers and Metal Urbain, but Sex Mex play a completely different game, punk like the Ramones mixed with new wave like Devo, which crosses over to pop like The Cars. And to anyone who opens their mouth only to tell me something like this can’t stand, I stop them immediately and show them what happened in Helsinki this past August 12th at the Amyl And The Sniffers concert, and then I throw “Rock For Light” at them, giving them a petty moral that that's the beauty of certain tiny rock’n’roll stories.
Be that as it may, “We’ll Be Gone” is an outstanding track and everything else follows with a freshness and compact energy that are increasingly rare talents.
Exactly 7 years ago, I gifted myself "Giddy Up" by Amyl And The Sniffers and it all comes full circle, but I already knew this.
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