Mariachi El Bronx has always lived in the space between worlds.
Born as a side project to the ferocious punk urgency of The Bronx, the Mariachi incarnation began as an experiment and quickly became something bigger.
With the release of Mariachi El Bronx's 'Mariachi El Bronx IV', frontman Matt Caughthran finds himself reflecting not just on a new album, but on a decade of life that shaped it.
Asked to describe the emotional core of the record, Caughthran initially lands on a single word, joy. "It's joy," he says, "but it's hard to nail down, honestly."
'Mariachi El Bronx IV' was written after a long stretch of change – personal, musical and existential.
Over the past ten years, Caughthran experienced profound loss, with family members and close friends passing away.
At the same time, he was preparing to get married, stepping into a future defined by love and commitment.
"There was a lot of death and sadness," he explains, "and at the same time I was very happy and excited about the new life we were building. There was this duality between love and death."
Rather than trying to resolve those opposing forces, the album allows them to coexist. That tension gives 'Mariachi El Bronx IV' an emotional punch.
It's a record that feels reflective without being heavy, celebratory without being naïve. "There's a lot of death in the album," Matt says, "but there's also a lot of love. There's a lot of hope."
The album's closing track, 'Into The Afterlife', confronts mortality directly, but it's far from an ending rooted in despair. Instead, it frames death as part of a broader emotional landscape – one that includes memory and renewal.
Caughthran describes his writing process as one guided as much by instinct as intention. "Sometimes the music takes you places you never expect to go," he says.
"I'd want to write about a very specific feeling or person, and the music would take me somewhere else; and I was thankful for that, because it allowed me to escape the emotion a little."
That willingness to surrender control has long been central to Mariachi El Bronx. While the project draws heavily from traditional mariachi instrumentation and structure, it has never been about strict authenticity.
Instead, it's about emotional truth – using the form as a language rather than an absolute playbook with rules. On 'Mariachi El Bronx IV', that surrender and philosophy pay off.
Lots of the songs went through multiple rewrites before finding their final shape. "Some of these songs I rewrote four, five, six times," Matt admits.
"You want to get them to a place where they don't just feel good to you, but feel good to the band, and feel good to people listening."
That collaborative mindset is crucial and despite the deeply personal emotion he has poured into them, Caughthran is careful not to treat the record as a solo confessional.
"You don't ever want to make a record completely for yourself," he says. "I lean on my bandmates a lot. Sometimes something is too sad or too personal. It might be good, but it doesn't fit."
That communal spirit carries directly into the band's live shows. While Caughthran doesn't believe in good-luck charms or rigid pre-show rituals, he approaches each performance with intention.
An hour before stage time, he warms up his voice and starts mentally preparing. "I always try my best to make sure each show is special," he says. "I really enjoy talking to the audience," he laughs. "Just talking sh.t, basically."
Each city brings its own stories, its own energy – and Australia, in particular, holds a special place in the band's history. Mariachi El Bronx first toured Australia in the early 2000s, quickly building a strong connection with local audiences.
That relationship continues next week, when the band returns for a tour that will see Mariachi El Bronx and The Bronx share a single set – a first for the group. "It feels right to be doing it in Australia," Caughthran says. "There's so much history there for us."
With 'Mariachi El Bronx IV', that history feels distilled into something both personal and universal – a record shaped by time, loss and love. It has its own heartbeat.
"At the end of the day," Matt says, "you've got to let the music speak for itself and take you where it wants to go."
The Bronx & Mariachi El Bronx 2026 Tour Dates
Tue 3 Mar - Forum Melbourne
Thu 5 Mar - King Street (Newcastle)
Fri 6 Mar - Roundhouse (Sydney)
Sat 7 Mar - The Tivoli (Brisbane)