The Bad Tequila Experience

“The Bad Tequila Experience is a 5 piece progressive rock band from Philadelphia PA. As a band comprised of all people of color, they draw influences from not only contemporary rock bands but from their ancestral lands in Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, and Africa. With soulful vocals, complex melodies, and pounding drums, The Bad Tequila Experience seeks to create a new sound and provide representation for other people of color interested in rock music.”

Their bio pretty much says it all; The Bad Tequila Experience is the real deal. They bring an insane amount of talent to the table and their latest release, “Alpha”, is amazing.

The first track, “(I) Conquered”, is the perfect start to the EP. The track mixes sections of heavy hitting drums and distorted guitars with hushed sections of clean guitars and soft vocals. The transitions between the sections of the song is flawless and the clean tones are superb. The vocalist is also very good at having the right tone in her voice and it matches what is happening in the song. The end of the song features some pretty dark riffs and sounds like controlled chaos. I really enjoy it.

“Constellations” is a great follow up to the first track. It is more laid back but still brings some power in the chorus. The bass on this track is my favorite and is played expertly. While the chorus is still energetic, I feel it is almost underwhelming; It could have used some more distorted guitars or something to make it stand out more from the rest of the song. The bridge of this songs reminds me of CHON with the guitars trading lines back and forth.

Up next, “Mountains” brings the tone down even more and is a great progression from the last track. This is my favorite vocal performance of the entire record and it really feels like the vocalist left a piece of herself in the song. It starts soft and picks up in the second half of the song–This is my favorite track of the EP because of that progression. It all builds until the end and then fades out. It is wonderful.

The final track, “All is Forgiven in Victory”, is the perfect ending to this EP. It builds off the excitement in “Mountains”, but it was lacking the emotion in the vocals that is found through out the EP. The vocals are executed flawlessly nonetheless. The chorus line, “Stand up and fight, stand up and make this world right”, is a great message, but that lack of emotion really undercuts it. The bridge of this song is the best part; it features a latin-sounding bass solo with various auxiliary percussion, shortly met with a very heavy guitar track that had me banging my head along. The end of the track is beautiful and brings the emotion back into the track.

The Bad Tequila Experience has released an amazing work of music with their new EP, Alpha. It is theatrical and emotional. It is a fine work of art. All of the musicians in this group are masters of their instruments. Follow their progress on Facebook, and check out Alpha on iTunes and Spotify. - Blubeat An online publication by Bluhaus Records