All musical motifs of the Lone Star State converge in Austin’s West Texas Exiles. The quartet, made up of members hailing from El Paso, Amarillo, and Lubbock, draws inspiration from all squares of the Texas music quilt, from Willie to Buddy and everyone in between.

Their debut full-length album 8000 Days came out last Friday, and it’s already made an impression on the Americana album and singles charts. From the album is “Division,” a song that on its head is about marital woes, splitting-up your things once it’s finally over, and the raw bouquet of feelings that drove it to that point. It’s also a perfect metaphor for the members of West Texas Exiles’s own members: coming to Austin to start a new chapter and escape the “nothing for me here” burdens of home.

The dustiness around the bass and drums are given polished gimmers of hope with Colin Gilmore’s plucky mandolin and the classic country crooning of guest vocalist and Austin Americana stalwart Kelly Willis to play against the band’s own co-vocalist Marco Guitierrez.

West Texas Exiles have a Waterloo Records next Thursday, September 18th at 7PM.

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