LOOKBACK MACHiNE: CALEXiCO

ROUTES & BRANCHES

featuring the very best of americana, alt.country and roots music

November 27, 2024

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

Having served time with Giant Sand and Friends Of Dean Martinez, drummer John Convertino and multi-instrumentalist Joey Burns came together to form Calexico in 1996. Their initial sound incorporated elements of traditional Latin music, as well as folk, jazz, and experimental influences. Horns and strings were added for the recording of 2000's Hot Rail, cementing the sonic mix that would define the band to this day. Even as Calexico's writing began to embrace more traditional song structure, they maintained a sound that was distinct in our kind of music. Other acts incorporated border music or Mexican folk or mariachi influences, but none presented the blend championed by Calexico. Our selection includes the pair of projects created alongside Sam Beam of Iron & Wine - 2005's In the Reins and 2019's full-length Years To Burn. We also break one of our rules by including the act's terrific 2004 cover of Love's "Alone Again Or". Overall, the evolution over the years is impressive and even admirable, even as part of us yearns for the less structured, more experimental earlier vibe. That said, there are few roots-adjacent bands that could meet Calexico's sheer musicianship. As Burns commented for a recent interview: We wanted to put everything in the pot, and it can be a little over-eclectic. But we found ways to connect all these genre to make it into a beautiful, smooth ride. 

CALEXiCO: thirty favorites

- "Wash" Spoke  (Quarterstick, Aug 97)

- "Gypsy's Curse" Black Light  (Quarterstick, May 98)

- "Minas de Cobre - For Better Metal" Black Light

- "Ballad Of Cable Hogue" Hot Rail  (Quarterstick, May 00)

- "Service and Repair" Hot Rail

- "Crystal Frontier (Widescreen Version)" Even My Sure Things Fall Through EP  (Quarterstick, May 01)

- "Sunken Waltz" Feast Of Wire  (Quarterstick, Feb 03)

- "Quattro - World Drifts In" Feast Of Wire

- "Across the Wire" Feast Of Wire

- "Alone Again Or" Convict Pool  (Quarterstick, Apr 04)

- "He Lays In the Reins" In the Reins  (Overcoat, Sep 05)

- "History Of Lovers" In the Reins  

- "Cruel" Garden Ruin  (Quarterstick, Apr 06)

- "Bisbee Blue" Garden Ruin

- "Panic Open String" Garden Ruin

- "Victor Jara's Hands" Carried To Dust  (Quarterstick, Sep 08)

- "Writer's Minor Holiday" Carried To Dust

- "El Gatillo - Tiger Revisited" Carried To Dust

- "Glowing Heart Of the World" Selections From Road Atlas  (Quarterstick, Nov 11)

- "Splitter" Algiers  (Anti, Sep 12)

- "Fortune Teller" Algiers  

- "Falling From the Sky" Edge Of the Sun  (Anti, Apr 15)

- "Bullets & Rocks" Edge Of the Sun

- "Under the Wheels" Thread That Keeps Us  (Anti, Jan 18)

- "End Of the World With You" Thread That Keeps Us

- "What Heaven's Left" Years To Burn  (Sub Pop, Jun 19)

- "Father Mountain" Years To Burn

- "Follow the Water" Years To Burn

- "Harness the Wind" El Mirador  (Anti, Apr 22)

- "Rancho Azul" El Mirador

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