Plymouth Pavilions, Thursday
It starts with the hefty strum of an acoustic guitar and a blast of brass, swiftly segueing into an irresistible, hip-swinging, Tex-mex melody and Raul Malo's warm voice crooning: "Here comes my happiness again, right back to where it should have been..."
Of course, that can only be the opening bars of Dance The Night Away, the infectious hit by The Mavericks that charmed UK music lovers and shot up the singles charts back in 1998.
That song will, naturally, take pride of place on the setlist when the recently reunited band make a welcome return to the Westcountry later this month. But there's a whole lot more history and substance to this post-punk outfit that emerged from Miami's indie scene nine years earlier, quickly making their mark in the States. They created a unique neo-traditional country sound that has been described as having innocence, intensity, and vintage influences in equal measure. With Cuban American singer Raul at the helm, they put ten albums in their back catalogue and secured a Grammy award before going their separate ways in 2004 to pursue other projects.
Fast forward to 2012 and they are back with a vengeance and a brand new LP – In Time – that is unmistakably Mavericks; it's heaving with big beefy songs like the driving Come Unto Me and the ska-fuelled Back In Your Arms Again.
"It's sort of fresh all over again. I think that is kind of what is making it fun. Time apart from each other and the band has renewed our perspective. Everyone is a little more chilled now, a bit mellower and a bit wiser," says Raul, who established himself as a solo artist and kept favourite Mavericks' songs alive in the interim.
"We appreciate the fact that not too many artists can walk away for ten years, then make a record and come back out on tour. To have that opportunity again and to make the kind of record we have is really kind of special. We are really enjoying it. We realise how special this moment is."
