El Día de los Muertos

Nearly a decade since he emerged from Ciudad Obregón as a fresh-faced teenager with El Patroncito, Alfredo Olivas isn’t looking to his musical past as a popular performer of narcocorridos. Yet even as he continues to distance himself musically from the violent cartel narratives with which he made his name, the singer and accordionist retains an understanding of the dark side on his third proper album, El Día de los Muertos, a full-length divided between the banda and norteño styles he remains proficient in. Not surprisingly, the title track preoccupies itself with death—seemingly his own—with a hefty existential last gasp. Thankfully, the record explores less morbid subject matter as well, though the romantic struggles inherent on “A Estas Horas” come across with no shortage of brooding.