A highly promising debut release.

"It's another Tequila Sunrise, starin' slowly 'cross the sky..." With a name like that, I was expecting an Eagles-ish Soft Rock album when I received this promo. It isn't... but it's highly entertaining nevertheless.

Formed in Madrid, Spain, in 2011, Tequila Sunrise's debut album 'Danger Zone' is a veritable cocktail (come on, you knew that pun was going to come sooner or later) of late eighties/early nineties Hard Rock encompassing the technical edge reminiscent of Mr. Big, Winger and Van Halen, yet also retaining a number of tracks that ooze with the commercial choruses of the likes of Danger Danger, Tyketto and eighties Bon Jovi.

For instance, punchy opener 'Day By Day' bursts into life with a blistering flurry of guitar notes from axe-men Ramón Blein and Cecilio Sánchez-Robles that would draw nods of approval from Messrs. Paul Gilbert and Eddie Van Halen. Then there's the smartly arranged 'Coming Home' and 'She' which almost flirt with Prog and demonstrate the Winger-ish technical ability of the band, while the brilliant 'My Way Or The Highway' is an ultra-catchy anthem with a chorus that would easily fit snugly on the classic Danger Danger debut, with 'Carry On' and 'Risk It All' also blessed with a great commercial edge.

Some of the choruses do occasionally lean towards a slightly cheesy edge, suggesting that the Spaniards don't quite have their finger on the pulse in the way that their Scandinavian counterparts do, but that is a considerably minor criticism of what is essentially a highly promising debut release.

Ant Heeks