El Valiente

El Valiente’s been doing pretty well for itself since it dropped its 2007 album, El Topo, earning a decent local crowd for its stark, long-form rock instrumentals. Drummer Joe Bernstein often holds down pretty glockenspiel melodies with one limb while working a tricky rhythmic mix with the other three, and guitarist Eric Caldera brings a peculiar mix of Southwestern flavor and post-rock dramatics. The three new songs on El Valiente’s 2009 album Daceton outdo everything the band came up with previously, discovering catchier, sometimes brighter guitar hooks and inverted moments where Bernstein’s drums seem to lead the band. 

Updated 05/24/2011