SXSW Preview: Ratas del Vaticano

by Eric R. Danton · in
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It’s a fact of South by Southwest that sometimes you pick bands to see based solely on their names. For example, I Love You But I’ve Chosen Darkness in 2003, or I Can Lick Any Sonofabitch in the House in 2007.

Not only does Ratas del Vaticano have an excellent name, the Mexican punk band has a gripping, old-school punk sound: fast, raw and appealingly lo-fi. The band last year released a full-length album, “Mocosas Pateticos.”

The group hails from Monterrey, and the Mexico connection is significant: If punk is about rebelling against authority, there’s no more historically influential authority in Mexico than the Catholic church. And did we mention the quartet’s old-school punk sound?

Ratas del Vaticano performs Friday at Club 1808 and Saturday (well, technically Sunday) at the same place. Listen here to their song “Que Vivan Los Buenos Amigos Y El Rock and Roll.”

LISTEN
Olvidos mp3