Strong songwriting in both the music and lyrics makes this americana-rock an enjoyable listen.
West Texas Exiles have been formed from the ashes of the Dirty River Boys, a band formed in 2009 by Marco Gutierrez in El Paso, Texas, right on the Mexican border. The group finally folded in 2023, after years of gigging and producing a handful of records. The drummer from the DRBs, Lubbock-born Trinidad Leal, followed Gutierrez to his new band. Gutierrez had by then bonded with a musical soulmate, Amarillo-raised keyboardist Daniel Davis, who had opened for the DRBs one night in another band. Add in Lubbock-born bassist Eric Harrison, and you have the initial lineup of the WTEs.
The band made their live debut at a 2022 gig in Austin, celebrating the birthday of Lubbock legend Buddy Holly. Also playing was Colin Gilmore, son of renowned singer-songwriter Jimmie Dale Gilmore, who liked what he heard of the WTEs and asked to join the band. The four-piece then turned to five. Their debut EP, “Volume 1”, came out in 2023.
On “8000 Days”, their debut album, they have a slightly laid-back americana-rock sound, though with significantly more oomph than, say, The Eagles. Although there is nothing revolutionary about the record, the songwriting is of high quality, making this a very enjoyable listen. There is an originality about their music, which has various americana influences, but doesn’t feel at all like the songwriters, Gutierrez, Davis, and Gilmore, are just going through the motions.
To give an idea of the variety on show here, ‘Cards’, where a religious path is not taken, has a nice country shuffle and honky-tonk piano. ‘Division’, the tale of a relationship breakdown, “Watching all our gardens die/ We both became so delicate/ Your stifling vines are why I fell/ Oh, I ain’t doing well” has picking on mandolin and vocal duties shared by Austin country singer Kelly Willis to give the woman’s side of the story. The very catchy crowd-pleaser ‘Bright Yellow Sun’ has echoes of Jason Isbell, and ‘Winds Gonna Blow’, about the grind and loneliness of touring life, has a nice swing to its chorus. ‘Already Now’, the closer, has a jazzy feel, while ‘Dark Desire’, with a Tex-Mex flamenco flavour, is almost crooning. ‘Way We Are’ is a barnstorming country-rocker with something like a Big Country guitar riff driving it along.
They get the words right, too, as well as the music. They come at their tales and descriptions “sideways”, so they are interesting and not too obvious. But, on the other hand, they aren’t so abstract that you are left wondering what the hell they are all about. The opener ‘8000 Days’ tells of a drug-fuelled escape from the city: “That sunset burned wild colors in the sky / If that’s what kills you I’m ready to die/ Put that pink and orange slow burn in my lungs”.
‘Circles In The Yard’ describes going to New York and it not being quite what was expected: “But I turn down Lorimer, what do I see/ Someone from home begging change from me/ He came for the music, the milk and honey/ He ran out of friends when he ran out of money”. Some words tell of the dark side of life, but there is positivity, for example, in the touching love song ‘Way We Are’.
There should be more coming from the group soon. Gutierrez says, “We all collectively have probably a full album, if not two, ready to go. We have years of backlog that we’re just aching to get out.” Judging by this record, this will be something to very much look forward to.
