Fans of upbeat indie pop will be delighted to hear that Mexico’s Montonegro have teamed up with Marianette of Ayer Amarillo and Puerto Rican guitar-grabber AJ Dávila for new garage outfit, Festival Pagano. The self-consciously grainy lead single, simply titled “Festival Pagano,” from their upcoming debut EP, channels raw homemade energy in scuzzily harmonious melodies, striding drums, and Dávila’s rock sneer (reminiscent somewhat of a young Joe Strummer after a heavy night on the booze).
In this case the pagan festival of the song sounds like your typical house party, with lyrical references to fresh meat, golden bodies, eating shit, raining blood, and beer. It’s unsubtle and bratty, a 3 a.m.-slab of aggressive neighbor-baiting that disappears as quickly from your memory as it bursts in there in the first place.