Explode with Los Dynamite

By Tankboy in Arts & Entertainment on Jul 3, 2008 6:01PM

Los Dynamite hail from Mexico City, but if you heard them without knowing that tidbit you'd be more likely to think of them as either being based in Brooklyn or London. The band rarely sings in Spanish, and their songs sound way more like Interpol and their ilk. And when they do sing in Spanish, it's over angular art punk that renders the vocals importance more as an emotive instrument than a lyrical delivery system. What we're trying to say is that while Los Dynamite is technically a "Spanish Rock" band, they don't sound like anything you would expect to sprout up south of our border.

Their debut, modestly titled Greatest Hits, delivers eleven songs that hew pretty closely to the dance rock model that has mostly worn out its welcome. Luckily Los Dynamite's enthusiasm breathes new life into the dancing drums, needling melodies, and wriggly thumping bass. The vocals drip with saucy attitude, but the lack of ironic sneering keeps the band full of a winning swagger that reminds us why that whole dance rock thing took off in the first place. We're looking forward to the band's first visit to Chicago this weekend and are banking on the group bringing that same new sense of discovery and excitement to their live show.

Los Dynamite plays Saturday July 5 at Metro, 3730 N Clark, 8 p.m., $20 advance tickets / $25 day of, 18+

Photo from the band's MySpace page