Bajo el Control del Radar

It's true, there are a lot of fish in the sea. In Mexico's oceanic punk music scene, there are big, small, pretty and ugly fish, but one thing is pretty much certain. They all tend to swim in a school. There's not a heck of a lot of divergence from group thought, and most bands are shy about stepping out and experimenting on the genre's fringes. Jalisco's hometown heroes Thermo make it pretty clear (beginning with the album art) that their sophomore effort is not Mexi-punk as usual. The opening cut "Zombies & Breakdance" makes stylistic turns on a dime, with musical references to everything from hardcore to flamenco to ambient and more. The majority of the record is not quite so schizophrenic, but Thermo continues to cast a pretty wide net. Though many recoil at the term "emo-core," Thermo seems to align themselves for style and sophistication with northern neighbors who share that label, like The Killers and My Chemical Romance. The record's title cut "Bajo el Control del Radar" embodies the ambient, atmospheric, film-noire aesthetic that can be heard lurking in the corners of the record's otherwise aggressive, up-tempo repertoire. The other side of Bajo el Control del Radar's haunting qualities are some of the most engaging, memorable hooks to grace modern Mexican punk. Thanks to it's creative mixture of sweet and sour, Bajo el Control del Radar is among the most listenable Mexican rock records of 2007.