Esmerelda Strange..One Woman Band! Esmerelda plays the accordion and drums and sings all at the same time.She sings in English and in Spanish. Ms. Strange would describe herself as a punk rock band, but her musical influences and the resulting product contain elements of urban folk, cumbia, circus music, Norteno/ranchero, and an Eastern European gypsy sound. She sings both in English and Spanish. She is known for her saucy sense of humor and salty lyrics, as well as her eerie and evocative music. ”Introducing Esmerelda Strange” is the first CD by this feisty and original talent. Containing 9 songs, this 31 minute CD is sure to become a treasured item in the musical collections of the offbeat and obscure. Here are some things that have been said about Introducing Esmerelda Strange: "So here I was set to review this album...and then I lost it. But in a clean sweep of the living room I found it again and here I am reviewing it for you. This album has lots of catchy tunes under 5 minutes featuring Esmerelda singing along to her accordian and some nice beats too. My favorite tracks are "Ballad Of Flight 901", "Te Quiero Mucho", and the album opener "Introducing Esmerelda Strange". Fans of Dame Darcey and THE CENTIMETERS would probably be into Esmerelda's music...and what do you know? I just happen to be fans of both!" Chris Beyond. No-Fi Magazine. “San Francisco has been the fermentation grounds of many a strange and wonderful bands. I don't know if anyone comes close to Esmerelda Strange these days. She's a singer, songwriter, and one person band. She plays--accordion, drums -- and sings -- she combines ethnic Latin and Eastern European and gypsy sounds with an urban punk estethetic with a little rockabilly and early rock thrown in--and alternates between singing in English and Spanish. ”My favorite song on the album that just came out is "Ballad of Flight 901," an homage to the rockers who have died in plane crashes. Compare with "People Who Died," by Jim Carroll. Carroll was reciting his friends who died mostly of drugs. As someone who used to have to be coaxed onto an airplane with huge amounts of alcohol, I found this song especially charming. 
Esmerelda cites some of her musical influences as Celso Pina, Queen Ida, Boozoo Chavis, Clifton Chenier,Those Darn Accordions, The Tiger Lillies, The Pogues, Calexico, Mano Negra, El Gran Silencio, Astor Piazzolla, Lou Reed and The Clash. What about Judy Tenuta?” Carl Macki. Punk Globe Online Magazine “Esmerelda Strange will not be getting a job on Wall Street any time soon. In fact, if she lived in New York rather than San Francisco, the city probably wouldn't let her out of Williamsburg for fear she might wreak havoc on the more humdrum populace. There would be notable exceptions, of course. If eccentric millionaires hired her to play their funerals just to piss off their stiff relatives and get the toddlers dancing around the coffin. Or maybe a Spanish teacher would bring her in on career days as an example of what you probably shouldn't do with the foreign language degree. And she'd most definitely be free to shock drunken hipsters into thinking her one-woman cacophony is some kind of performance art rather than just the best damn show you've seen in years.

But when Strange starts playing her, well, strange songs, it's hard not to wonder if she's serious. It might be one thing if she strapped on a guitar and wailed like an orca. But she plays accordion. And drums. And a tambourine. And sings. In Spanish. All at the same time. It's like watching a punk rock polka goddess making good on a bet with some ranchero band after a tequila binge in Tijuana. And it's mesmerizing. And hilarious. And totally bizarre. Even when she's singing about cunnilingus. Or maybe especially when she's singing about cunnilingus. Sure, stock brokers wouldn't understand it, but they'd probably want to throw money at her. And think of the chaos that would cause.” Jeff Inman, Las Vegas City Life.