You have to tip your hat in admiration to the Tequila Mockingbyrd girls: firstly, for coming up with such a great name for a band and, secondly, for throwing in the substitute Y so they can be found easily on the internet. The Aussie trio also recently sold up everything and relocated from Melbourne to Marlow, UK – a move that has so far proved to be very smart indeed. Another reason to sound the applause is ‘Fight And Flight’, their debut album.  It manages to make hard rock sound like a brand new experience even if four of the tracks formed the ‘T-Byrds Are Go’ EP a while back.
One of those songs it has to be admitted would grace almost any contemporary album made. ‘Money Tree’ isn’t complex, nor does it break new ground. What it does do brilliantly though is cruise down a well worn route with its head held high, the windows wound down and the stereo cranked up to eleven. This is an immense tune sung with real panache by Estelle Artois. Some of the newer material is pretty good too including ‘Jaegerbomb’ which runs along fuelled by good old fashioned twelve bar blues. It’s simple but massively effective thanks to the subject matter and that swaggering vocal once again.
There’s the odd hiccup here and there. ‘This Ain’t Dead’ is a bit too subdued and ‘Half Of The Man’ sits back into retroland further than the rest of the record making it sound a bit out of place. Mostly it’s full steam ahead though with the feeling that you’re listening to people who have an instinct for writing music and have gelled on a level that many would be jealous of.  Australia loved them so much they sent the group off to the Middle East to perform for the troops. Now it’s England that has them and I’m sure it won’t want to be letting them go home again any time soon.
GARY TRUEMAN