If Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash had a Mexican baby, he would be Juan Cirerol. His music is energetic, frantic, hilarious, punk, regional, country, folk, and overall, his own. He is only accompanied by his 12-string guitar and harmonica, but that is enough. At just 39 minutes 5 seconds and 13 songs long, this album should feel quite short and fast, but manages to feel as if were a much longer affair. To put it into context (for myself), The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (David Bowie) is 38:29 long.
Check out his live performance at SOS to see him work that harmonica.
Dynamic vocals, mad guitar skills, and a cordial understanding of the vernacular don’t even start to describe the artistry of Cirerol, whose folk faculty and generation timing constitute for a career that is as much about philosophy as it is about pop culture.
https://www.oldfonograma.com/2012/01/juan-cirerol-haciendo-lena.html
Cirerol’s music is a violent clash of regional Mexican music and punk attitude, a 12-string microcosm of all that embodies the rage and love of border living. It’s as if he went to the desert at midnight and traded his soul for a 12-string in order to serenade misfit, wandering souls through its crossroads.
https://www.kcet.org/shows/artbound/norteno-meets-punk-on-juan-cirerols-12-string-guitar
More info: YouTube [Full Album]: https://youtu.be/NWJb2oN06SE https://www.oldfonograma.com/2012/01/juan-cirerol-haciendo-lena.html https://www.kcet.org/shows/artbound/norteno-meets-punk-on-juan-cirerols-12-string-guitar