Axolotes Mexicanos - Salu2

Re-press rlease date: July 5, 2024

2024 reissue on clear vinyl

TRACKLIST: 01 Intro  02 Astor  03 Doble Check  04 Trececatorce  05 Nacida Para Sufrir  06 Sin Ti  07 Menos 100 08 Estanquero  09 XXX  10 Farmacia  11 Vaga  12 Heavens Gate  13 Debora Tartas

There is no question that we are in the midst of a marvelous moment for AXOLOTES MEXICANOS. Olaya’s supergroup has recently released an incredible album, “4ever”, which after 10 years of the band’s career, is just as powerful and fresh as ever. We are celebrating this opportunity by rereleasing their first two albums, which have been sold out since forever ago. First, we have “Holi <3”, their 10” Mini-LP (released 2 years after their debut single “Infectados”), a gem that originally came out on white vinyl and that now we are bringing you in pink. This is the album that made all the qualities we love so much about that band clear: their love of J-Pop and Asian culture, their punk, unbiased attitude. Then, we’re also rereleasing their first album, “Salu2”, which shared the concept for the album cover with the previous one, and where we talked non-stop about HELEN LOVE, JUNIPER MOON, but also about KERO KERO BONITO and TOFUBEATS. It is an unfathomable, unpredictable spectrum of styles, and they are not afraid of playing with digital sounds or with guitars, and they created a space for a countless number of groups that came after them.

These albums have been objects of desire for hunters of out-of-print gems for a long time, and we will finally be able to enjoy these songs on vinyl.

ORIGINAL PROMOTIONAL TEXT

This is a new era for pop, in so many different ways, and the AXOLOTES MEXICANOS have been and continue to be, without a doubt, one of the most pressing promises on the national scene. Their Mini-LP and their Singles have been models in audacity and strength. And here they are again, at last! And we can’t even believe it. “Salu2” is an album that reflects a moment in time, starting with the title itself, and the cover.

The instrumental “Intro” and “Astor” go right into what we were expecting – unhinged, hyper-energetic, catchy, youthful and speedy pop-punk with lyrics that twist your heart into a knot. But then “Doble Check” comes on, and your head spins. Those fat, broken, fragile beats, a slippery song that still maintains every last drop of the immediacy of its predecessors intact. Capital letter POP, twenty-first century pop. “Trececatorce” dives head first into sped-up J-pop. “Nacida Para Sufrir” and “Sin Ti” are euro-pop, disco, pop-punk… HELEN LOVE, JUNIPER MOON, SHAMPOO, early PHOENIX … But no, there’s autotune, those twisted frequencies, they talk about TOFUBEATS and KERO KERO BONITO…

And yes, again, only two of the thirteen songs on the album reach the three-minute mark. They maintain the impeccable effectiveness of their choruses, as, to give an example, “Menos 100” and “Vaga” demonstrate. And yes, there are more examples of their canonic, irreverent punk-rock, like “Estanquero”. But songs like “XXX” and their digital flirtations, mixed with those merciless guitars, the roller-coaster-like structures, and that melody that makes your heart swell and your feet move, all of these things are what have turned AXOLOTES MEXICANOS into a group that is representative of the sound of their times – a sound that is unmistakably their own but is also inevitably tied to the time they themselves are writing. Or “Farmacia”, which surprises us in its plays on references and tropical evocations, its slippery programming that is also direct and soaked in J-pop. Or “Heavens Gate” and its passionate, dislocated, digitalized punk.

And we also can’t forget to mention those impossible lyrics – so much fun, without beating around the bush, capable of handling taboos with alarming ease. Without prejudices. Without limits. Just listen to that barely minute long “Debora Tartas”. Be sarcastically scandalized. It’s the only thing to do. And enjoy it.

With the support of Carlos René on production work and a few songs, which he also plays live with them now, Juan and Olaya Pedrayes have written a surprising album that puts them right in the spotlight of the here and now of national music. The album will be released in vinyl (500-copy, numbered-limited-edition, transparent vinyl) and digital format, and will definitely have people writing and talking about it. Please excuse us – what we mean to say is, “Salu2” is going to use up tons of megs.