Big Hat, No Cattle – The Mezcaltones (self released)
Sydney’s Mezcaltones make Tex Mex music for people who’ve never been south of the Albury-Wodonga border. It twangs and pumps in all the right places with surf overtones baked in and a sprinkling of spice over the top.
These four guys and two gals (one of the latter on percussion and Flamenco dancing) in black and matching cowboy hats have been around the block more than once. They’re from the Northern Beaches - a place like the Shire in its insularity, only without functioning public transport - but conversely, they’ve fronted more Aussie country-blues festivals than Barnaby Joyce on a Resch’s bender, sorry, study tour.
The roll call includes Tamworth, a whopping eight times, and “Big Hat, No Cattle” is their fifth album.
That’s a lot of studio time but there’s no denying The Mezcaltones are best experienced live - as their website attests:
(They)…mount the stage to the thunderous theme from ‘The Magnificent Seven’ and the show begins. And it is a show… slick, edgy, almost dangerous with a talented and well-rehearsed band guiding you through Mimi and Col’s antics. Col comes armed with a bag full of one liners and a voice lined with tequila. And Mimi… Mimi is contagious energy, exotic dance moves and a bag of tricks which include percussion, masks, scarves, belts, ribbons and more.
You don’t get the Dawn of The Dead optics on “Big Hat, No Cattle”, but the band plays it well. Russell Piling’s production via Damien Gerard Studios is clear-headed and tidy. There’s no effort spared in the mastering, with Billy Bowden applying the final gloss.
Vocalist Col Padre takes a back seat on a couple of instrumentals but brings his A game on the rest. Lead guitarist El Shango’s tone resonates throughout. The covers “Can’t Let Go” (Rady Weeks) and “Don’t Take Your Guns To Town” (Johnny Cash) blend seamlessly with originals like “City Lights” and the title track.
“I’ve Been Thinking” is a Johnny and June style duet while “Easy Come, Easy Go” goes down smoother than any Tequila I’ve ever swigged. “The Ghost of The Wakehurst Parkway” is the most rocking of the nine songs, with a smidgin more dirt smeared into the mix. No prizes for guessing this one’s the winner.
There are no boundaries being pushed on “Big Hat, No Cattle” but The Mezcaltones give the people want they want, pure and simple. It's more Tijuana than Cancun and like “Guzman y Gomez” for the ears.
3/4
