Zoé

(image by Toni Francois, via Noiselab)

Zoé is probably one of the first Mexican rock and roll success stories. In a country where rock music has struggled for many years under a state-sponsored ban and the domestic music industry caters almost exclusively to pop and foreign artists, Zoé have persisted, if not thrived. The five-piece from Mexico City is not nearly as well known as a Maná or El Tri but they appeal to a new generation of teenage Mexican rockers that have embraced rock as a staple and not a novelty act. For the middle class chavitos y chavitas on mai espeis, Zoé is the right band right now.

Formed in 1994 by singer León Larregui, guitarist Sergio Acosta, bassist Ángel Mosqueda, keyboardist Jesús Baez and drummer Alberto Cabrera (recently replaced by Rodrigo Guardiola), the band was not able to release their debut album until the end of 2001 when the group was picked up by Sony after years of languishing on EMI. The rebound affair with Sony didn't last very long: the group was cut loose after their sophomore release Rocanlover in 2003. Just two years later, Zoé would take everyone but their fans by surprise when the independently released EP The Room went Gold – a spectacular achievement for an indie record in México.

Memo Rex Commander y el Corazón Atómico de la Vía Láctea, their latest, features Zoé at the top of their game with a polished Brit pop rock sound a la The Beatles, The Charlatans UK, Pink Floyd and Radiohead. It's an achievement that opens the band to the frequent criticism that they sound "too British" and not Mexican enough, whatever that means. Nonetheless, songs like “No me destruyas” and “Vía Láctea” will slide right in to just about any iPod, regardless of its country of purchase. Ironically, the four English-lyric songs on Memo Rex are not nearly as catchy or compelling.

Zoé, who have sold out concerts across la república mexicana and just completed a small promo tour in the U.S. are now officially buzzworthy. Whether they'll cross over as many international boundaries as the British acts they admire may hinge on how much longer they can continue to push against the grain.