listening to todd p’s mtymx

Monterrey, Mexico, in all its glory

South By Southwest is upon us. But there’s something else brewing across the border starting Today. Famed New York DIY promoter Todd Patrick BKA Todd P, is hosting/throwing/curating something called MtyMx, an inaugural mountainside all ages three-day festival in Monterrey, Mexico featuring dozens of indie acts. It’s sort of a rejoinder to SxSW, but not really. It’s really just another Todd P-style commando art project; this time in Mexico. Should be a blast. Unless it’s, um, not.

There are plenty of high profile performers slated, including Fucked Up, Dan Deacon, No Age, and Neon Indian. But part of the draw is the array of international artists Todd has booked, culled from all over the world, from the United Kingdom’s Male Bonding to Japan’s Acid Mothers Temple to a nice smattering of Mexican bands we’d never heard of. So, we went sample-crazy and tried to learn a little bit. The results weren’t exactly what we were expecting. Here’s five bands hitting MtyMx you might care to hear.

Chikita Violenta: The Stars and Suns Sessions – Produced by longtime Broken Social Scene orchestrator David Newfield, this melodramatic quintet makes a skyward brand of indie rock that sounds closer to Canada than Mexico. There’s lots of chest-grabbing intensity and soaring crescendos here. BSS’s primary songwriters Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning guest on the “Disintegrates,” which takes it sweet time building to a cathartic close. Good stuff here, though hardly what you’d call native sounds.

Quiero Club: Nueva America – This is one of Mexico’s most popular indie bands, a quintet that makes pretty and light-hearted electro-pop. And some of the songs are even in Spanish! Though most aren’t. Getting Talking Heads meet Space Invaders vibes. These guys are actually from Monterrey, so they’ll be in native hands and probably draw a nice crowd. And they rarely play outside of Mexico, so this might be your only shot to see them.  BONUS: Nueva America is on sale now for just nine credits.

Los Fancy Free: Menonita Rock – In case you were wondering, Los Fancy Free frontman Martin Thule was born in a Scandinavian Mennonite community called Nueva Escandinavia. His parents were hippies who sold fruit on the side of the road. After Thule moved back to Mexico City from Chihuahua he formed this band and started crafting kitschy electro that sounds like dustbin versions of ’80s stalwarts Gary Numan and Soft Cell. Menonita Rock has a few jams, especially the creepy “Drama On Ice.” Once again, not what we were expecting!

Antoine Reverb: Goodbye Victorian Houses – Hey, another Mexican act that doesn’t sing in Spanish and features no semblance of traditional Mexican music. Weird! Still this Guadalajara band’s debut is a pleasant bit of shoegaze-y folk. This will probably sound gorgeous in the Monterrey sun. Less so bundled up in a cubicle.

Ratas Del Vaticano: Mocosos Pateticos – This is easily my favorite of the batch. Slapdash, lo-fi Black Lips-style junk rock. Nearly every song is shorter than two minutes, the guitars swinging like broken bottles in a bar fight. And the all of the songs are, yes, in Spanish. Tip: Go see Ratas Del Vaticano if you’re at MtyMx. Another tip: Don’t drink the water. A third tip: Don’t die.