Calexico "Feast Of Wire" 2003

As good a balance of familiar and fresh found, from one of the only relevant Tex-Mex sounds around.
Unlike the ever-experimenting Lambchop, to whom they are often compared, Calexico stick to their niche. Since Calexico don't spring as many stylistic surprises on us as the sprawling Nashville ensemble, their track record is also less erratic. While Feast of Wireis a bit quieter than its three full-length predecessors, it also fits neatly into an ever-impressive body of work. John Convertino and Joey Burns--the Tucson band's core--only confirm their status as folk storytellers, their songs as irreducibly American as Cormac McCarthy novels, and their trademark Southwestern, sun-baked Ennio Morricone sound continues to be ambitiously timeless. "Black Heart," for instance, begins like a Portishead outtake before swelling majestically. Even when they shuffle styles ("Close Behind" marries '60s western grace with assured melodic chops, and "Attack El Robot! Attack!" goes off in an almost Devo-like direction before smoothly segueing into the full-on mariachi extravaganza of "Across the Wire"), they retain an immediately identifiable personality. Calexico may not make headlines, but this album solidifies their standing as one of the most endearingly idiosyncratic bands on the American scene. - Elisabeth Vincentelli
trax:
01 Sunken Waltz 02 Quattro (World Drifts In) 03 Stucco 04 Black Heart 05 Pepita 06 Not Even Stevie Nicks... 07 Close Behind 08 Woven Birds 09 The Book And The Canal 10 Attack El Robot! Attack! 11 Across The Wire (Widescreen) 12 Dub Latina 13 Güero Canelo 14 Whipping The Horse's Eye 15 Crumble 16 No Doze 17 Corona (Bonus Track) 18 Si tu disais (Bonus Track) 19 Fallin' Rain (Bonus Track)