There are some bands that just effuse class and determination, Calexico are one of those bands and with their new album ‘The Thread That Keeps Us’, they continue to point us down the road to musical joy.
The album opens with ‘End of the World' which is a barnstormer that, will have you smiling from ear-to-ear in seconds. The song has an unlikely romanticism in volatile times with its lyrics “Love in the age of the extremes,” the perfect opener for an album that explores the contrast between light and dark, hope and fear. Next song, ‘Voices in the Field’ has you grabbing your partner and swinging him or her around the room with that newly discovered dance routine that the song evokes.
“Confronting modern–day reality amid the backdrop of the Marin County coastline, Joey Burns states the album’s premise is "Love in the age of the extremes" Joey and John Convertino have served up another widescreen record of multiple sounds and styles but one, that really underpins and revives your musical soul from the dark winter nights to the bright sunshine of the wide desert landscape.
This is the ninth studio album from Calexico and in bringing the album to life, Joey and drummer John found a spiritual home in unusual surroundings not in Arizona, but, on the Northern California coast in a home-turned-studio called the Panoramic House. Built from debris and shipyard-salvaged timber and dubbed “The Phantom Ship” by the band. The grandiose house and its edge-of-the-world feel have certainly made their way into the songs.
‘Under The Wheels’ has groove that moves the body into a rap meets calypso rhythm, and is quite exceptional. This moves on to a beautiful sixties style ballad ‘The Town and Miss Lorraine’. ‘Girl in the Forest’ spins a gentle tale from its near despair over the state of the planet (“Well the world was spinning so fast, nobody took the time”).
Working with their longtime engineer Craig Schumacher, Calexico co-produced the record, gathering musicians from across the globe to join them. “Whenever we’re writing and we come up with something that feels too familiar, someone will end up saying, ‘That feels good, but let’s keep going and see what else we can uncover,’” Joey says. “It’s been really important to the arc of this band’s evolution for us to always keep on trying new things.”
Eclectic in sound and joyfully intense in feeling, this band are on fire. The live show is always something special, so here’s to a long hot Calexico summer!
CALEXICO ARE: Joey Burns, John Convertino, Martin Wenk, Jacob Valenzuela, Sergio Mendoza, Jairo Zavala Ruiz, and Scott Colberg.
The Thread That Keeps Us is out 26th January on City Slang
Pete
10/11
Calexico 2018 Euro dates:
Mar 09 Hamburg, DE @ Grosse Freiheit
Mar 10 Berlin, DE @ Tempodrom
Mar 11 Munich, DE @ Muffathalle
Mar 13 Rome, IT @ Auditorium Parco Della Musica
Mar 14 Milan, IT @ Alcatraz Milano
Mar 16 Bologna, IT @ Estragon
Mar 17 Fribourg, CH @ Fri-Son
Mar 18 Zurich, CH @ X-Tra
Mar 19 Linz, AT @ Posthof
Mar 21 Stuttgart, DE @ Im Wizemann
Mar 22 Lyon, FR @ Epicerie Moderne
Mar 23 Cologne, DE @ E-Werk
Mar 24 Antwerp, BE @ De Roma
Mar 25 Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso
Mar 27 Paris, FR @ Elysee Montmartre
Mar 28 Bristol, UK @ Trinity Centre
Mar 29 London, UK @ O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire