West Texas Exiles released their debut EP – ‘Volume 1‘ – last Friday, and it’s a rollicking roots rock influenced work. West Texas Exiles have a lot of talent to draw on – with three singers/songwriters: Marco Gutierrez, Daniel Davis, and Colin Gilmore; backed by bassist / producer Eric Harrison and drummer Trinidad Leal. Their sound draws on influences as diverse as The Flatlanders and Buddy Holly to Augustana and Jason Isbell. They swagger through ‘Hotel Tomorrow‘ sliding from one dive to another making their mistakes along the way.
The members of West Texas Exiles are, it’ll come as no surprise, from West Texas, but they made their ways from their hometowns to music town Texas – forming the band in Austin. Which is kinda mid-Texas drifting towards the Gulf of Mexico. But as the band say “There’s Texas, and then there’s West Texas. You can leave it behind but you can’t let it go” and those near neighbour influences from Mexico and New Mexico certainly bleed into the sound that West Texas Exiles make.