Welcome to Ball of Wax 48, a collection of songs in languages other than English. Our first track is from Pampa, a band whose participation in this volume was mandatory. “Entre Balas y Batman” (which I just learned means “between bullets and Batman”) is a slow-burning rocker that starts off a little mellow, breaks down with some fast-talking Spanish, then wallops you with spacey guitars and pounding drums and bass. Moon Baillie’s plain-sung (and -spoken) vocals and multi-layered guitar mastery are key to the band’s full, seductive sound, but the steady rhythm section of John Carlson and Steve Lykken hold it all together beautifully.
Don’t miss Pampa’s set at the Ball of Wax 48 release show June 3rd at Conor Byrne!