On the tail end of Autogramm’s 2018 tour of Mexico (what little I remember of that week now is a lot of pulque and not a lot of sleep) I visited the one punk record store in CDMX that I found via googling where to buy bootleg punk t-shirts. I’d already visited Venas Rotas Discos earlier on the trip and picked up a sick “Boys Don’t Cry” tee but decided to return and try to buy some records. My previous experience with punk music on my many trips to Mexico taught me that punks there like ska and metal which isn’t really my bag but after playing with a diverse bunch of local bands I was sure there was stuff out there that would turn my crank… After describing the kind of stuff I was into, the fella working (who’s name unfortunately now escapes me) gave me a few recommendations. I ended up with two new LPs- Era Del Vacio and Muerte, both releases on Mexico’s Cintas Pepe label.
Where was I going with this? The Ramones (and maybe subconsciously the Dead Milkmen) were my first loves but it was the Sex Pistols and The Clash (then later The Buzzcocks and The Damned) that got me into (then back into) punk and/so I still think a British accent (and more recently an Australian accent) is punk af. I had considered writing a single review for both Nocturnal Prose’s Western Interests and Generacion Suicida’s Hobre Nuevo as both deal in a sorta gothy effects-laden guitar forward brand of post punk and if I’m allowed to say so both seem to speak to and about the Mexican American experience in the current anti “immigrant” climate of the United States. (*Call me a dumb Canuck but wouldn’t most Mexicans with any indigenous heritage in their family histories be less immigrant than us mostly white settlers?) I decided not to combine the reviews because of a specific difference between the two bands- the lyrics in Generacion Suicida’s song are all in Spanish (or possibly Spanglish at least?). Sure I have a tattoo of Minor Threat’s black sheep because they are the first hardcore band I ever got into (I heard Black Flag first but I will forever be an Ian>Hank guy, no offence Henry but I know you agree). Anyway again getting off topic my point here is that if there is a hardcore band that I think might be the G.O.A.T., if not Minor Threat it would be Los Crudos. And I would guess the reason for that is (much like an accent) there’s something about Martin Sondeguy spitting those angry words in Spanish instead of English that just sounds so fucking cool!
Okay holy shit it’s all coming together now stay with me. So what you get with Generacion Suicida is primal stripped down drumming like Ramones or fellow Angelinos The Zeros (LA’s answer to the pinhead fab four), mid tempo melodic punk with consistently chorus-soaked angular guitar leads and Spanglish lyrics. Other than the guitar they haven’t added any noticeable extra effects, instrumentation or production. What you hear is what you get as in a pretty close approximation to what they sound like live and having seen and played with them I can attest to them being a solid live band. They seem to tour a lot and I can also tell you from experience playing every night beats practicing once or twice a week for getting the chops polished. I’ve heard them compared to OG Basque punks Eskorbuto and Kortatu but is that just because of the language thing? I’d say Generacion Suicida is darker and more angular albeit not as dark and less noisey than aforementioned Mexican punks Muerte and Era Del Vacio.
Do I want this to sound more like Sondeguy’s current/sorta gothier band Canal Irreal? Sure but maybe I also want Canal Irreal to sing more in Spanish! IMO Generacion Suicida does not necessarily wear their influences on their sleeves but is also not really trying to reinvent the wheel. I can hear bits of all these different bands, making their sound- the self proclaimed “musica del barrio”- unique enough to be totally listenable. They should be the poster children for current LA punk. (Not drunken bloated Hollywood poseur punk but cool South Central barrio punk.) Would I like it as much if they were singing in English? Doubtful- the world is so full of English-centric songs, I often wonder why bands who can don’t sing in languages other than English?! I imagine/hope Generacion Suicida are big in Mexico as I can’t imagine punk kids always want to hear lyrics in English any more than they always want to hear ska or metal (I know I don’t) and in turn I hope they are inspiring those kids to start their own punk bands in LA, Mexico and beyond. (If you’re still reading this steam of consciousness everything but the kitchen sink word salad I whipped up here, congratulations you made it to the end now go check out this record.)
