Gypsy Pistoleros marry an unlikely pairing of musical styles: catchy, 80s-style party jams with traditional Spanish flamenco elements. Despite only having been on the scene since 2006, this motley crew of leather-clad, Spanglish-speaking dudes have released their first greatest hits compilation.
For the most part, they’re about glam rock sleaze: opener Living Down With The Gypsies and Ballad Of A Broken Angel (Loco Loquito) are big party jams, accentuated by lead singer Lee Pistoleros’s vocals, which sound a hell of a lot like a certain Vince Neil’s.
But it’s when they incorporate those Spanish elements that things get interesting, like the twiddly Spanish guitars that punctuate Moonchild, and the mariachi trumpet opening to Switchblade Kiss Comes Close. Gypsy Pistoleros may make a strange hybrid on paper, but on CD, surprisingly it works.
If you pine for the swaggering hairsprayed days of 80s metal or just like your music with a hefty helping of fun, give this a spin. Some advice, though: skip their Living La Vida Loca cover.
