Calexico
Feast Of Wire

THE REVIEW

Calexico is a quiet town located on the border between the United States and Mexico. It's therefore obvious that Joey Burns and John Convertino, after their experience with Giant Sand, chose the name of this warm location for their new musical project, which in the blend of Mexican folk music and alternative rock from the stars and stripes, expresses its best sound.
"Feast Of Wire" is the fourth work of the band from Tucson, the first of the entire production, which, while not denying a sound that has become a characteristic of the two musicians, ventures into new atmospheres and sources of inspiration, thereby reaching a broader audience among indie scene lovers.

The opening is entrusted to "Sunken Waltz" and "Quattro", splendid country ballads with a twilight and melancholic soul that seem to suggest a decidedly reflective mood for the entire work. In reality, the entire atmosphere of the album often alternates between relaxed interludes and moments warmed by the inevitable Latin sounds, with the transition from one state to another dictated by short and intense instrumental pieces. Thus, we have the chance to appreciate "Black Heart," a noir song where melody and noise coexist perfectly (think of the Black Heart Procession of "Amore del Tropico"), "Not even Stevie Nicks....", acoustic-pop in the style of Turin Brakes and rarefied psychedelia in the style of Mercury Rev in perfect symbiosis, "Guero Canelo" and "Across The Wire", Mexican dances full of tequila and mariachi. Jazz forays ("Crumble"), tastes of minimal electronics ("Attack El Robot! Attack!"), the beauty of the closing "No Doze," which seems directly played by Chicago's Tortoise, are other elements that frame "Feast Of Wire" as the band's most ambitious and inspired album.

The easy classification attempts that plagued previous works now fail miserably, as Calexico, in the height of their artistic maturity, create a dreamy soundtrack of a fantastic road trip along the border towards Mexico, a journey that each of us can embark on simply by closing our eyes, lulled by the splendid notes of this superb collection of songs.