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There’s much talk these days about the sorry state of country music. The genre \u2013 commercially, more popular than ever \u2013 is overrun with what its detractors call \u201cbro country.\u201d Hopelessly (some might say defiantly) clich\u00e9d songs about yellow beer, Friday nights, pickup trucks, mean ol’\/clueless big city types and whatnot are the coin of the realm, and they all sound like one another. \u201cEven non-fans are starting to take notice,\u201d wrote one recent commentator.<\/p>\n
It all largely passes me by, as I’ve never been a fan of modern c&w. Though I did briefly find it inescapable late last summer: I live quite near our city’s baseball stadium, home one sweaty afternoon to a concert pairing Florida Georgia Line<\/strong> and rapper Nelly<\/strong>. To call it awful and lowbrow gives it too much credit. And it was louder than most rock concerts (and I’d know) making it even worse.<\/p>\n Those who appreciate things like musicianship and authenticity (of a sort) in their twang seem to prefer music that falls under the Americana label. And while nobody knows exactly what is and is not Americana, there’s general agreement that it’s the better stuff. And on that I’d agree.<\/p>\n One of the best things about Americana today is The Mavericks<\/strong>. They’re widely celebrated among Americana fans, though I’m not convinced that they are country. Their approach is too wide-encompassing for that \u2013 or perhaps any other \u2013 label. Founded in Miami at the beginning of the 1990s, the group has released eight albums, including two since their 2013 reunion. Mono<\/em>, their latest, features two founding members \u2013 vocalist Raul Malo<\/strong> and drummer Paul Deakin<\/strong> \u2013 plus two more recently-added members, keyboardist Jerry Dale McFadden<\/strong> (with them since the mid 90s) and guitarist Eddie Perez<\/strong> (he joined in 2003). And the music on Mono<\/em> might best be described \u2013 if we need a label \u2013 as norte<\/em>Americana.<\/p>\n There’s a strong Latin undercurrent to the songs on Mono, most notably the thrilling \u201cAll Night Long,\u201d a musical cousin to Santana<\/strong>‘s \u201cSmooth.\u201d It’s a wholly successful hybrid of Latin rhythms, Cuban arrangement, and modern rock\/pop. It has hit-single written all over it, though as of this writing it hasn’t in fact charted.<\/p>\n But \u201cAll Night Long\u201d doesn’t sound all that much like the remaining eleven tracks on Mono<\/em>. What it has in common, however, is quality: this is a strong album that’s enjoyable from start to finish. Rock fans \u2013 and those with little musical grounding in country (in other words, listeners like me) \u2013 will find many musical touchstones throughout the album. \u201cSummertime (When I’m With You)\u201d sounds a bit like Joe \u201cKing\u201d Carrasco and the Crowns<\/strong> crossed with Louis Prima<\/strong>. \u201cPardon Me\u201d is Mono<\/em>‘s only real country tune; it sounds like classic c&w of the late 1960s and early 70s, with Malo’s yearning vocal a highlight. \u201cWhat Am I Supposed to Do\u201d is a romantic midtempo number with a great singalong chorus. \u201cStories We Could Tell\u201d feels like early dance-oriented rock’n’roll a la Bill Haley and the Comets<\/strong>, with a Texas swing feel. \u201cWhat You Do to Me\u201d could almost be termed ska-country; the accordion works quite well, and some Mariachi-flavored horn charts and electric guitar add to the tune’s excitement.<\/p>\n