Julión Álvarez brings Norteño north of the border with 'Soy Lo Que Quiero: Indispensable'

Society always celebrates the records that top the Billboard 200 album chart. Back of The Billboards is a Music Times weekly segment that looks at the opposite end: the new record that finished closest to the back of the Billboard 200 for the previous week. We hope to give a fighting chance to the bands you haven't heard of.

Week of 02/07/2014

WHO: Julión álvarez y Su Norteño Banda

WHAT: Soy Lo Que Quiero: Indispensable

SPOT: 177

We had to reach deep to find the last debuting album this week, and it comes from our favorite pop-music producing neighbors: Mexico. Okay, so you're probably more familiar with Canadian music than Mexican music, but this is what Back of The Billboards is for: introducing you to new things.

Julión álvarez y Su Norteño Banda are purveyors of the popular Norteño genre, a form of music that has unfairly been referred to as "Mexican country" and "Tex-Mex" for years. The country music comparison comes from the stylish cowboy outfits performers wear and the Bajo sexto acoustic guitars they play. The "Tex-Mex" term is actually more accurate, as the music is most popular in northern Mexico and along the border in the United States. New Yorkers who ride the subway may also be familiar with the form.

Soy Lo Que Quiero: Indispensable (or "I Am What I Want to Be: Essential") brings the same formula that helped Alvarez's previous album-Tu Amigo Nada Mas-to the top of the Mexican charts. álvarez sings lead, frequently joined by his backing buddies. The button accordion, one of the signature instruments of the genre, is well represented here, and the use of the saxophone justifies Alvarez's placement among the more "progressive" of the Norteño form. This writer's guilty pleasure is the oom-pah bass provided by the sousaphone.

Soy Lo Que Quiero ranges from party tracks ("El Envase") to more mellow party tracks ("Dime"). If álvarez ever feels down, the music doesn't show it.