Track listing: Matahari Mimi, If I Could Make You See, Wouldn't Last a Day, I Wanna Do It With You, Not Going Home, Seven Spanish Angels, When the Wheels Go Up, News For You, Amity Isle

So I'm listening to The Mezcaltones' latest release, Agave Soiree, enjoyin' the hell out of it. It's Spaghetti Western meets Tarantino. Southwestern United States, for sure. There's some Spanish goin' on, a re-imagining of Willie and Ray's "Seven Spanish Angels," and the group has a look that places them somewhere off Interstate 10 between El Paso and Phoenix. 

Then I click around their website and socials looking for where they're from, expecting maybe California. Maybe Arizona or Texas. It'd be a surprise if they were from Nashville or somewhere like Philadelphia. 

Nope. Not even in the right hemisphere.

Australia! Sydney, New South Wales.

I'm still reeling from being so far off, but I digress. Agave Soiree is great! It's a sonic adventure that takes you across the American Southwest and traverses through U.S./Mexico borderlands. The lead-off single "If I Could Make you See" comes at you with a Mavericks vibe: good ol' mid-tempo Country & Western with slide guitar and a deep country twang. "I Wanna Do It With You," slated as the follow-up single, takes more of a rockabilly turn. Almost 50s sock-hoppy.

Take the album for a spin yourself. Soak it in. Close your eyes and see some new sights, feel the hot desert sun on your face, pour a fine Reposado and sip it slowly. It's agave, after all, where tequila gets its richness and depth. And thanks to The Mezcaltones, you've now got a soiree to get to!