Corridos: Defendiendo el Honor is a great collection of corridos, expertly performed throughout, and evocatively packaged.
Pesado are at their best when they dispense with the modernization gimmicks they and other latter-day conjunto/norteño groups sometimes employ. Corridos are the "blues" of the border region, detailed ballads where people are named, and achieve significance largely through being on one end or the other of a violent betrayal or act of revenge, which is endured and committed with a sense of profound fatalism. This is much like American folk ballads of the last century, except that the corridos are rooted in the present day drug-running culture of Mexico, and as such have much more explicitly rendered violence. The lonely conjunto setting is ideal for these sorts of songs, and
Pesado, to their credit, don't try to make the music more than what it is, letting the intrinsic integrity of the songs shine through. The modernity of this release shows in the mix, which is precise and punchy, able to cut through car and nightclub noise easily, yet subtle enough not to draw attention to itself. In a home listening environment, you'll feel like you are right next to the campfire with these guys. ~ J. Chandler