It is always a good thing to know that a new Calexico album is coming out. They provide a glorious burst of familiarity, yet never seem repetitive. The sounds might be similar, but the range of tones and rhythms they can bring to bear, ensure it is always fresh.
The album kicks straight into familiar territory with the title track. El Mirador is a wistful tune, punctuated by those trumpets. A hypnotic rhythm drives the song along, before the trumpet solo levitates over it.
Harness the Wind rattles along with its upbeat country rock sound, before Cumbia Peninsula sees the welcome return of old-boy Jairo Zavala on guest vocals.
With Then You Might See, the vocals are hushed, yet urgent - somehow like watching a sped up video (but that might just be me). The sound of the chorus is gorgeous - "Lava flow of memory, making daydreams out of history."
Cumbia Del Polvo gives us a sultry, almost disco beat, with the maracas shake of percussion. Gaby Moreno adds her vocal to provide a counterpoint to Joey Burns low growl. "Underneath the moonlight, venture from the shadows, dancing in Sonora, hearts full of dust." You can taste the dusty and darkened streets as it goes along.
The repeating staccato trumpet punctures El Paso, the vocals almost spoken. Calexico create a mirage here and that seems apt as they discuss the realities of life along the border - it is not as politically simple as many might have you believe. "Fighting for a border, that's hard to understand, and harder to find, than the truth in this land."
Side two is off to a flyer, with a tune that will undoubtedly become a live favourite very quickly. The El Burro Song is fun. A proper mariachi romp, where you can imagine the spit and sawdust of some southwestern bar where the song might be being sung. Raise a glass!
Liberada features some lovely layered trumpets and vocals throughout, which fill the gaps of an otherwise sparse arrangement. Turquoise is an instrumental and doesn't stand out. There is an air of mystery to it, kind of country noir, but it sounds more like an interval from a dusty western.
On Constellation, we go all dreamy and ponder love - but is it for a person or a place? Either way, images of night-time over some southern desert take hold as Burns sings, "Never gonna leave, never gonna stray, wrapped around your heart, every night and day."
As we get near the end, Rancho Azul gives us one more blast of tempo, the mexicana rock track you didn't know you needed. Very much this album's Splitter - and that's no bad thing in my book. Then, somehow fittingly enough, Caldera comes along and melts away into the album fade.
So, just as I said at the start - this is like every Calexico album - delivering heart and joy and vivid images of the landscape from which it comes.
Notes:
Recorded at Silverbell Studios in Tucson.
Produced by Joey Burns, Sergio Mendoza and John Convertino
Released on 8 April 2022 on the Anti label
Calexico are: Joey Burns, John Convertino, Sergio Mendoza, Jacob Valenzuela, Martin Wenk, Scott Colberg and a raft of other guests like Gaby Moreno and Jairo Zavala.
Score:
A hot and sultry 8.8 / 10
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