Cordero

The world may recognize Chris Verene as a photographer, but Atlanta knows him as one of the city's founding fathers of indie rock. He pounded away as the original drummer for Dairy Queen Empire (now DQE), and played in various musical acts throughout the '80s and '90s, including the Rock*A*Teens and the Opal Foxx Quartet. These days, the Brooklyn-based transplant can be heard providing the beat for the Latin-infused indie-rock act Cordero, so named after his wife, songwriter and the group's founding member, Ani Cordero. The group has a long history of cycling through collaborations with members of groups such as Calexico and Giant Sand (Howie Gelb), while various other musicians have moved in and out of the fold. Even keyboardist/lapsteel guitarist F.A. Blasco of Interpol was once a fixture in Cordero.

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Verene met Cordero when he was looking for a drummer to replace him in the Rock*A*Teens in the late '90s. But when courting her for the Rock*A*Teens, she took an offer to play drums for Man or Astroman?'s Gamma Clones side project instead. Verene and Cordero were married soon after, and consummated their musical relationship with 2002's Lamb Lost in the City (Daemon Records).

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The group fluctuates from working as a duo with Verene and Cordero to a six-piece. Joined by bassist Eric Eble and trumpeter Omar Little, the group's fourth offering, En Este Momento (At This Moment), is Cordero's first for Bloodshot Records.

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Ani Cordero's sultry voice saunters between Spanish and English over Verene's staccato rhythms. "Heart in Me" and "Come on Dear" resonate with honest passion, stripped from some south-of-the-border cantina scene where lovers come to terms after a long quarrel. "Don Julio" adds light to a collection of songs cut from a dark and fiery reclamation. "It's an urgent album and a political one," adds Verene. "We've been getting quite a reaction from these songs and that's why we play them."