Los Mocosos

Imagine for a moment that you’re a music critic.  You’re checking out the new CD by Los Mocosos, and you’re thinking, “okay, this is fun. Some good old barrio-style rock.” Then suddenly you’re hearing reggae and funk and rap.  Before you know it you’re reaching for the hyphen key way too much: “a triumph of Latino-ska-funk-rock” just sounds silly, even if it’s true. 

That’s Los Mocosos.  If America still prides itself on being a melting pot, then this just might be the ultimate American band. Born in San Francisco’s Mission District, Los Mocosos comes from the tradition that brought us Santana, Malo, and War – classic bands that crossed cultural borders as well as musical ones, and whose lyrics had something to say beyond the shaking of one’s booty. 

Their first record on Six Degrees, Shades of Brown, had the critics excited--and trying mightily to avoid the dreaded Multiple Hyphen Syndrome. “Get ready to be swept up in Soulatino,” was the Dayton Daily News’ attempt; “a West Coast hybrid that mixes Latin pop with ska, swing, and rock.” Popmatters.com called Los Mocosos “a searing Latin ska, rockero swing, R&B funk and Spanglish hip-hop blend.”  Their new CD, American Us, is even harder to pin down. Almost every track has a musical surprise: the Latino barbershop ending on the album’s leadoff track “Bandolera Era,” for example; or the witty insertion of an almost doo-wop style vocal bridge in the middle of the reggae-driven party tune “Hey Mama.”  And if you ever wondered what it would have sounded like if Steely Dan had recorded “Oye Como Va” instead of Santana, check out the song “Volvieron.”

The most impressive thing about American Us is that it doesn’t sound like the work of a baker (a pinch of this, a dash of that); it is the work of a band that has its own sound--a multicultural sound that’s so convincing because it reflects who they are. “In the Mission District, bands have always played a varied repertoire,” says Greg Landau, the sought-after music and video producer who collaborated on the new record. “If people went to a wedding or community event, you would hear the traditional Latin, R&B, salsa, rock, and romantic ballads played one right after another. So Los Mocosos just synthesized it and found their own voice.”