Pistolera

Defining their music as "Latin alt-folklorico," Brooklyn quartet Pistolera fuse traditional Mexican folk forms like rancheras and corridos to contemporary indie rock styles. Singer and guitarist Sandra Lilia Velasquez, accordion player <a href="spotify:artist:7cFfyN8CrrKcTysMQv4yJe">Maria Elena</a>, bassist Inca B. Satz, and drummer <a href="spotify:artist:0CRwWa8WxuhnF5eTf45lI1">Ani Cordero</a> are like <a href="spotify:artist:6OWapcJm9xd55ci9CYbAuT">Los Lobos</a> for the indie generation, or perhaps a first step for indie rockers who find the likes of <a href="spotify:artist:6wH6iStAh4KIaWfuhf0NYM">Manu Chao</a> too forbidding. Formed in late 2004, the quartet began on New York's indie-world music fusion scene alongside acts like Gypsy punks <a href="spotify:artist:2SVw939fwuqSobLjF8u78b">Gogol Bordello</a> and neo-Afro-beat big band <a href="spotify:artist:2KGF6IKZfVGCKfyqcNVGfh">Antibalas</a>, then quickly graduated to the worldwide folk festival circuit. Following a well-received live EP from the summer of 2005, Pistolera's self-released debut album, Siempre Hay Salida (There's Always a Way Out, roughly), was released to favorable reviews in the fall of 2006. ~ Stewart Mason, Rovi