The first time we listened to Mariachi El Bronx, we kept waiting for the cymbals to crash, the distortion to rip and the shrieks to bust through the pinata. But, as you know if you've heard the fourth album from LA punk screamers The Bronx, these guys go full Mexican start to finish.

In fact, the band is now performing as both The Bronx and as Mariachi El Bronx.

The former is the metal-tinged punk band you know and love, led by flamethrower vocalist Matt Caughthran and guitarist Joby Ford. The latter is the Three F***ing Amigos (plus two or three extras).

And amazingly, they pull it off. Listening to sweet and jaunty cuts like "Cell Mates" and "Sleepwalking," you'd never know these hombres typically deal in ferocious punk rock.

From a marketing perspective, however, an indie punk band suddenly putting out a frickin' mariachi record is not exactly a platinum move. In fact, when Caughthran said it was the "punkest thing in the world" for a band like The Bronx to do, he was onto something.

Maybe that's why Mariachi El Bronx seems to have been welcomed by fans. Additionally, the album has no doubt drawn in some listeners who probably wouldn't listen to The Bronx proper.
 
We're OG fans of The Bronx here at RockDex, but even we were surprised to see the huge spike in plays when the band made Mariachi available for streaming on its MySpace on August 18, 2009. RockDex charts the play count at over 35,000.

More recently, The Bronx/Mariachi El Bronx's MySpace (the band uses one account for both incarnations) has enjoyed a couple of spikes this month as well. Traffic increased around February 3 when the band announced a European tour. Making an even bigger impression was El Mariachi's in-studio appearance on world-famous Los Angeles station KROQ on February 23.

But as with any band, MySpace isn't the only place where fans are connecting with The Bronx. February Twitter mentions of Mariachi El Bronx also jumped around the time of the tour announcement, and then again concurrently with the KROQ performance.

And if you're still wondering what's up with these gringos trading in their electric guitars for trumpets and guitarróns, just watch the KROQ video, and you'll understand.

If you'll be in Austin for SXSW in a few weeks, catch Mariachi El Bronx on Wednesday, March 17, at Emo's. Rest assured, we'll be there -- look for the white midwesterners dancing and yelling Orale!

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