After a 10 year hiatus, the beloved Los Angeles trailblazers Mariachi El Bronx are excited to announce the February 13 release of their new album, Mariachi El Bronx IV, which will be out through ATO. The alter ego of punk rock heroes The Bronx, Mariachi El Bronx continues to embody the same ethos that sparked their creation by pushing creative boundaries, while honoring the rich Hispanic music and culture that have always surrounded them in Los Angeles.

Clashing emotions of profound loss and overwhelming love shaped the album’s themes. The songwriting “started as a battle between love and death but became a way to process all the chaos of the world,” says lead vocalist Matt Caughthran. Throughout Mariachi El Bronx IV‘s 12 tracks, the band documents the stories of gamblers, former playboys, warriors, lovers – characters that became vessels for the specific pressures of being alive right now.

The band has also shared the album’s high-octane opener,“Forgive or Forget,” which KCRW premiered on Morning Becomes Eclectic today. The track, which features Ray Suen on violin (Childish Gambino, Lorde), exemplifies the contrasting emotions found across the album and amidst its galloping rhythm, Caughthran muses about someone “who’s completely disheveled and a little washed out, looking back on their life in a way that’s kind of hazy,” he says. “There’s a little bit of hope there, but it’s pretty dark.”

Mariachi El Bronx IV Track List

1. Forgive or Forget
2. Bandoleros
3. Songbird
4. All Things
5. El Dorado
6. Fools Gold
7. The Takers
8. RIP Romeo
9. Gambler’s Prayer
10. El Borracho
11. Tie You Down
12. Into The Afterlife

Photo Credit: Colin Hancock