Chetes "Blanco Fácil"

Luis Gerardo Garza, aka Chetes, started his musical career as the guitarist-singer for the famed Mexican rock band Zurdok Movimiento in the early '90s. When the band's name shrunk to Zurdok, its music got bigger and more ambitious. Zurdok's long out-of-print Hombre Sintetizador is widely held as one of the best Rock En Español albums of the last decade, thanks in great part to its Beach Boys-influenced wall of sound melodies. When Zurdok disbanded in 2002, Chetes formed the band Vaquero, with a self-titled debut album following in 2005. Though still active, Vaquero's members are currently pursuing solo work, the most promising of which is Chete's debut, Blanco Fácil (Easy Target).

Recorded in Nashville with the help of Ken Coomer, ex-drummer of the successful alt-country band Wilco, Blanco Fácil is almost entirely different from the catalogue of Zurdok and Vaquero. The album's first single, the Latin Grammy-nominated Completamente, is one of the few tracks in keeping with the Zurdok sound: a long violin melody, smooth piano accents and generous power pop hooks. While country fried, Blanco Fácil does not stray into Dixie Chicks territory. It comes closest to roots music on tracks like "El Sonido De Tu Voz," where Chetes is accompanied by a Mariachi band and "Que Me Maten," where accordion and acoustic guitar arrangements keep the Tejano mood in the air.

Chete's departure from the familiar terrain of Mexican Rock En Español has led to a cautiously upbeat, sincere and mature album. For the listener who is willing to sit still, with eyes closed, the music on Blanco Fácil hits its target with ease and could draw blood from more than a few sentimental hearts.