Billete Verde

There was a time when many younger Mexicans considered banda old-fashioned; it was, like mariachi, music that abuelito (grandpa) listened to while his nietos (grandchildren) were off in another room cranking Carlos Santana. But the banda boom of the '90s and 2000s gave banda a younger, hipper, more modern and cutting-edge image — and one of the groups that has been on banda's cutting edge is Banda Jerez. If any outfit can be considered a banda equivalent of Los Tigres del Norte, Grupo Exterminador, or Los Tucanes de Tijuana — three of the most gutsy and edgy groups in norteño — it is the controversial Jerez, whose Billete Verde doesn't pull any punches lyrically. This CD brings the in-your-face yet humorous approach of Los Tigres and Exterminador to the brassy banda style, and lead singer Marco Antonio Flores commands attention whether he is singing about adultery on "Arrinconamela," drunken partying on "Sabado de Gloria" and "Cerveza Helada," or drugs and crime on the narco-corrido "Trato del Diablo." These guys take banda to the extreme — not only because of their lyrics, but also because of their relentless exuberance. Of course, Jerez have their critics; some Mexicans have argued that Mexico needs uplifting lyrics — not off-color songs about adultery, intoxication, and crime. But then, art isn't always pretty; sometimes artists need to take a look at the dark side, which is why regional Mexican music has the provocative work of Jerez, El Gatillero de Durango, Los Tigres, Exterminador, and the late Chalino Sanchez as well as lush, romantic artists performing grupero arrangements of Marco Antonio Solís' material. Those who enjoyed Banda Jerez's Corazón Ranchero in 2004 will be happy to know that they haven't lost their provocative outlook (or their sense of humor) on Billete Verde.