Michelle Shocked,
Mexican Standoff



Label: Mighty Sound Records

(2½ out of 5)

(Note: Mexican Standoff is Disc 1 in Michelle Shocked's 3-disc release, Threesome.)

Mexican Standoff pays tribute to Mexican and African-American musical traditions. Shocked affects a Mexican accent for some near-parodic border music on "Lonely Planet" and "La Cantina el Gato Negro." "Picoesque" celebrates the melding of cultures through the example of Santa Monica's famed Pico Boulevard. "Match Burns Twice" closes the stylistic transition to the blues. Of the ensuing blues numbers, "180 Proof" and "Blackjack Heart" are most notable. In reality, though, nothing on Mexican Standoff proves particularly noteworthy.

June 30, 2005