Jay Hooks Band: Tequila & Bullets Review

“The COMEBACK is always STRONGER than the SETBACK” is the headline of the bio section on the official Jay Hooks Band website. It’s also the driving mantra behind Tequila & Bullets, Hooks’ first new release in over twenty years. Back in the late 1990s and early 2000s, his career was on the rise with three albums between 1997 and 2002, along with steady touring across Europe and his home state of Texas. The band’s bio also references a major setback in 2005 that derailed Hooks’ momentum and stole his musical joy, taking more than a decade to rekindle. Fans of gritty, outlaw Texas electric blues will be glad he found it again.

Tequila & Bullets was released on September 22 and features twelve tracks full of hard-driving electric guitar and raw, heartfelt vocals. The album drips with Hooks’ Texas blues-rock influences, from Albert Collins’ razor-sharp licks to Billy Gibbons’ foot-stompin’ boogie. The sound follows the electrifying path once blazed by fellow Texan Stevie Ray Vaughan. Extended jams and searing solos are an intentional effort to recreate a live show atmosphere. “When I set out to make this record, I wanted it to sound like my live shows from 2001 and 2002, raw, sweaty, and in your face,” Hooks explained. Joining him are Jorge Castillo (rhythm guitar), Brock Proctor (bass), and co-producer Matthew R. Johnson (drums), with Barry Seelen on Hammond organ and Myron “Big Jack” Jackson on trumpet rounding out the lineup.

Revisiting this era for the new album is both artistic and strategic. It connects to past touring successes and reinforces Hooks’ reputation for raw, powerful performances. Three singles paved the way for the album’s release: the rambunctious “Red Neck,” the classic electric blues cut “Lonesome,” and a reimagined version of his 1999 single, “A Woman Like You.” The updated track stands out with its moody lament: “She dances over table tops, DJ gives her a cue, back up on the stage again in this disco lighted room” followed by the inevitable “she ain’t comin’ home with me.”

The title track “Tequila & Bullets” is another highlight, menacing and grimy with a blistering solo. Slower standouts include the traditional, trumpet-laced blues jam “Mexican Larry” and the funk-flavored “Left Me Cold,” both of which stretch into extended play times. “Mind Full” takes on struggles with mental health, while the racing rocker “Evinrude Boat Motor” channels pure adrenaline. Hooks also nods to Rory Gallagher with “Mississippi Sheiks,” while “Your Touch,” “I Was Wrong,” and “My Kinda Fine” all deliver the kind of tough outlaw blues rock that stitches the album together.

Tequila & Bullets may mark Jay Hooks’ comeback, but its spirit is timeless. This is gritty, no-frills Texas blues rock that could have been recorded fifty years ago and still pack the same punch. The title track says it best: “tequila and bullets, they never lie.” And the truth is, if you like your whiskey neat, your bars dark and dingy, and your music loud, this is an album meant to be cranked all the way up.

The Review: 8/10

Can’t Miss Tracks

– Tequila & Bullets
– A Woman Like You
– Left Me Cold
– Lonesome
– Mississippi Sheiks

The Big Hit

– A Woman Like You