[Cover photo credit to Victoria Smith]
Mustangs of the West, an all-female Country quintet, have released their album Down at the Palomino via KZZ Music/Blue Élan Records. Building on their album Sea of Heartbreak, the group blend California Country and Americana traditions.
The Mustangs’ story goes back to the late ‘80s/early ‘90s and the L.A. Country scene, where they played the historic Palomino Club. After touring the U.S. and Europe three times, the band amicably parted ways in the mid-90s, with each of its members headed off into their own careers as songwriters, session musicians, and solo artists.
The group, now Mustangs of the West, bring to the table years of experience and craftsmanship. The band features three original members, Suzanna Spring (vocals/guitar), Sherry Rayn Barnett (lead guitar/vocals), and Holly Montgomery (bass/vocals), with the addition of Aubrey Richmond (fiddle/vocals), and Suzanne Morissette Cruz (drums/vocals).
Spring recalls the joy of sharing her songs with the band and hearing their creative additions:
When you write the song, maybe there’s a way that you envision them – but then they take this whole different direction, coming out much stronger and more extroverted, while the integrity of the songs remains. That’s the beauty of this whole album and this whole process that I really enjoyed.
The album is co-produced by Blue Élan Records/KZZ Music co-founder Kirk Pasich and Colin Devlin (The Devlins), primarily recorded at Dave’s Room, engineered and mixed by KZZ co-founder Zackary Darling, and mastered by Emily Lazar at The Lodge.
