División Minúscula is one of many rock bands south of the border mining the melodic punk veins. Alongside Allison, Panda, Motel, Delux and too many others to mention, División Minúscula are riding a mighty wave of emo en Español that is increasingly popular in Mexico and gradually making an impact on the U.S. Latin alternative scene.

The four members of División Minúscula, Javier Blake (singer-guitarist), Ricci Perez (guitarist), Kiko Blake (drummer) and Alex Luque (bassist), started the band in late 90’s, in the sleepy border-ish town of Matamoros, just south of Brownsville, Texas and better known for its drug lords than its rock bands. The band disbanded briefly when its members went off to college in Monterrey, a Mexican city known for its industry, wealth and prestigious university. Soon thereafter, the four-piece reunited to join that city’s burgeoning rock scene, eventually hooking up with Toy Hernandez, the man behind Control Machete, who signed them to his Sones del Mexside label.

The group’s 2001 debut, Extrañando Casa (Missing Home), was well received, earning them the distinction of being “the first” Mexican band to play punk’s latter day, slap happy incarnation with Spanish language lyrics. Remarkably, a five-year hiatus ensued, as the members of División Minúscula went back to school to finish their degrees and, in cases, to help with family businesses. This year, the band reunited and released a new record to the instant delight of at least 50,000 fans – the number of non-pirated copies sold to date in a market paralyzed by piracy and file-sharing.

The celebrated new recording, Defecto Perfecto (Perfect Defect) is blessed with crystal clear production on par with anything Dashboard Confessional has ever done. Loud, punchy guitars stay crisp and sharp on well-rounded compositions like “Soundtrack” and Sismo which is currently making the rounds on Mexican “modern rock” radio stations. Notably, it’s the well conveyed sincerity of the acoustic “Cada Martes” (Every Tuesday) and the slower “Me Tomé Una Pastilla” (I Took a Pill) which make the strongest impression upon repeated listening.

División Minúscula recently played an industry-friendly gig in Los Angeles and will return to the U.S. for a round of dates sometime in 2007.

Recomended tracks (iTunes)

Sismo
Me Tome una Pastilla
Veneno Es Antídoto (S.O.S:)
N-Amigo