Mariachi, ‘sugar punk’ and golden pop at Aloha Tower

Cage the Elephant bring their "sugar-punk" sounds. —Courtesy photo

Get ready, Honolulu, for “punk” in a mariachi stylee.

Watch for Mariachi El Bronx, dressed as a full-fledged mariachi band in traditional black charro outfits, as frontman Matt Caughthran of veteran Los Angeles punk band The Bronx brings his loving take on the music of Mexico.

Word to the wise, though: Don’t expect any thrashing. Mariachi El Bronx plays it straight, and for that the band has been an instant sensation.

And don’t expect sombreros. That’s one thing Caughthran said he won’t do.

“I decided to draw the line,” he said.” I mean, I want it to be traditional, and the look is amazing, but I think with the hats we would’ve come across as gimmicky.”

The band opens what should be an exciting show of top-notch indie-minded rock, with fellow L.A. band Best Coast and headliners Cage the Elephant, out of Bowling Green, Ky.

All three groups were buzz bands last year and are still very much in the public eye.

Cage the Elephant has been riding a big wave of critical acclaim.

Both Mariachi El Bronx and Cage the Elephant contributed to a just-released Bob Dylan tribute album benefiting Amnesty International.

The latest music video from Best Coast, for “Our Deal,” is a short film directed by Drew Barrymore with an all-star cast.

Even with the departure of headliner Foster the People (which rescheduled its appearance to March) and a move for the remaining bands in Audio Invasion Hawaii from Blaisdell Arena to The Waterfront at Aloha Tower, this remains a solid concert lineup.

Mariachi El Bronx will open up with their punk and mariachi-style music for Cage the Elephant. —Courtesy Ashley Maile

CAUGHTHRAN IS well aware that while The Bronx has been around for a decade, it’s Mariachi El Bronx that has brought his music to national attention.

Still, the traditional Mexican-styled band is no goofy side project.

Growing up on the outskirts of East L.A., it’s only natural that “the music has always been part of my background,” he said a couple of weeks ago by phone from L.A.

“Los Lobos was a huge band for me, and that’s who I get most of my inspiration from.” The connection is such that guitarron player Vincent Hidalgo is the son of Los Lobos’ David Hidalgo, who himself has guested with Mariachi El Bronx on the accordion.

“As I’ve ventured down the rabbit hole of my music, I get into different things and different artists, and putting together this band has been a wondrous thing for me personally and for the guys in the group,” Caughthran said. “The style of music we play truly represents our city of Los Angeles and its culture.”

The band just wrapped up a European tour as headliners, after opening for the Foo Fighters’ U.S. arena fall tour.

“Dave Grohl is a friend of the band, and when the Fighters were doing secret shows around California, he asked us to go on tour,” he said. “Before we left I thought, ‘There’s no way this is going to be good. This will be a disaster.’ But, honestly, there was not one bad crowd we played to on the tour. There weren’t any difficult, radio-raised, f—ked-up crowds to deal with. I like to think that they got the intention of what the group is all about.”

Even fans of The Bronx “are digging it,” Caughthran said.

“It’s been such a positive experience. … I’ve noticed that with Mariachi El Bronx it’s deepened my songwriting. With mariachi I’m dealing with a more complex sound and writing lyrics that really have to tell a story. You really put yourself out there.

“It’s great that we’re, on our terms, a success. It’s given me a buttload of confidence that’s different from what I feel from punk rock. It’s been a mind-expanding experience.”

Drawing influence from the pop sounds of the Beach Boys, Best Coast — Bethany Cosentino, left, and Bobb Bruno — brings their style of music to Honolulu. —Courtesy David Black

CAGE THE ELEPHANT, who couldn’t be reached on tour for this story, are “awesome dudes,” Caughthran said. He met them on the Foo Fighters tour when Cage the Elephant also opened during Foo Fighters’ U.S. appearances. (Tour war story: Foo Fighters bandleader Dave Grohl stepped up to help out when Cage the Elephant drummer Jared Champion went down with appendicitis, taking over the rhythm seat during a couple of Cage’s opening sets.)

Cage the Elephant’s 2011 album, “Thank You Happy Birthday,” was a big breakthrough for the band, named as one of the best 50 releases of 2011 by Rolling Stone, and earned the top spot in the magazine’s readers poll for Best New Artists. Breakout tracks “Shake Me Down,” “Aberdeen” and “Around My Head” were fan favorites.

Led by brothers Matt and Brad Shultz, the band has an unpretentious, scruffy vibe that takes in all the best about rock ‘n’ roll. The loping, real-life Southern funk of 2008′s “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked” was Cage’s calling card.

The band made a concerted effort not to repeat itself with “Thank You Happy Birthday,” its second album, woodshedding for a little more than a year in East London before returning to the States to finalize its recording.

Critical attention ensued. The album came in at No. 15 on Rolling Stone’s year-end list, praised for “sugar-punk noise riffs a la the Pixies and Nirvana” and “bright, bracing Sixties garage-rock melodies.”

While you can indeed hear a bit of the Pixies, plus some Dinosaur Jr., in the band’s sound, Matt Shultz has referenced classic 1960s acts like surf legends Dick Dale and the Ventures, and pop acts Herman’s Hermits and the Turtles, in talking about influences on the band’s songwriting.

BEST COAST has shared a festival stage or two over the last several months with Cage the Elephant. Both flaunt their retro influences.

Bethany Cosentino and Bobb Bruno are the core of the act.

Cosentino is a self-described “weird girl” who rediscovered her Southern California roots as a temporary Brooklyn transplant, going back to the basic pop sounds of the Beach Boys.

Bruno is an L.A. native, staple of the local music scene and friend from Cosentino’s teenage years; they reconnected when she returned to Los Angeles.

“I’ve always been a fan of ’50s and ’60s music,” said Cosentino via email, written during a break in the band’s current Australian tour. “I grew up in a home where that style of music was being played all the time. My father is a musician and my mother is a designer, so I grew up in a creative household where music played a really huge role.

“I think when I moved to New York and was so homesick and longed for those sunny Los Angeles days, I turned to (that music) because it was so nostalgic to me. It was like the music of my childhood, and it reminded me of sitting in my parents’ living room surrounded by sunlight. It was just the perfect music to turn to when I needed to be comforted.”

Best Coast made its initial reputation with a lo-fi, surf-pop guitar sound surrounding Cosentino’s girlish lyrics. The 2010 album “Crazy for You” was buoyed by such innocent-sounding confections as “Boyfriend” and “When I’m with You.”

But all that was when Cosentino was 22. At 25 she’s entering a more mature phase and looks forward to the release of a new album this spring. It will be produced by L.A.’s Jon Brion, who has also collaborated with Fiona Apple and Kanye West.

Best Coast’s change of direction includes the ouster of touring drummer (and former Vivian Girl) Ali Koehler. What was once a trio has now become a quartet, with a bass player and new drummer.

The new lineup “has given a lot more life to the songs live,” Cosentino said. “Our upcoming record has a lot more going on — more guitar, more bass, more singing, more everything.

“It’s not going to sound like an entirely different band or anything. Bobb and I always want to stay true to who we are. We just wanted to experiment with different sounds and recording techniques on this record.”

Cosentino acknowledges all that Bruno brings to the Best Coast sound.

“Bobb is like the architect of Best Coast,” she said. “I create the blueprints to a song, and he builds them. Best Coast would really be nothing without him. He’s such a huge part of this band and especially on this new record. He does so much, and he’s so humble and so helpful, I’m just so lucky to work with someone like him.

“We’re many years apart in age, but I consider him to be one of my best friends, and he just understands my vision, always. … I find myself a lot of the time being like, ‘Bobb! That’s exactly what I was picturing!’ Sometimes it’s eerie how much we think alike in terms of music.”

On the Net:
»thebronxxx.com/mariachi-el-bronx
»cagetheelephant.com
»bestcoast.us

—Gary Chun / gchun@staradvertiser.com