Calexico
Garden Ruin

THE REVIEW

That Calexico was making changes to their sound was something well-known since their collaboration with Iron Wine, but it is with this new album that the whole thing comes to fruition.

John Convertino and Joey Burns, the true creative soul of the band, as well as its undisputed leaders, have decided to implement a profound revolution within the Calexico universe. They have left behind the desert-like and imaginative atmospheres that characterized their previous works, especially their masterpiece "Feast of Wire," and they have fun venturing into alternative rock territories injected with strong doses of pop and country.

With the mariachi brass put aside in their cases, their attention has indeed focused on the roots of American music, distancing themselves from the jazz-influenced territories and the expansive atmospheres of their beginnings. From the early days of Tex Mex and Mexican border music, they have arrived at a melancholic and introspective country rock, for an album that turns out to be one of their most risky and mature works. The opening is more than ever sumptuous, thanks to the marvelous acoustic arpeggio of "Cruel", which spills into a song with strong country atmospheres properly seasoned with pedal steel played from the depths of the soul. The western epic and the great American open spaces are no longer at the center of the Calexican compositional and musical universe but rather form the backdrop for a new sonic amalgam, perhaps at times more introspective and emotional than before.
"Yours and Mine" delves into the territories of singer-songwriter folk, impressing with purity and beauty, with Burns' beautiful voice leading the way and a soft yet always varied drum completing it all. Dedicated to the town of Bisbee, where the album was recorded, "Bisbee Blues" is a folk blues tinged with pop melancholy but endowed with a melody that captures from the first listen.

"Panic Open String" recalls the best solo Neil Young, for the simplicity of the arrangement enriched in this case by the presence of strings that are never intrusive but rather well-balanced and full of charm. The following "Letter to Bowie Knife" is decidedly more tense, one of the most incisive rock pieces on the album, which, although starting off quietly, explodes in all its power, showing us that they have not forgotten their past. A rousing track with the whole band firing on all cylinders, playing by instinct. The Latin and mariachi atmospheres of the beginnings are awakened from the slumber they were put into to reemerge in all their beauty in "Roka (Danza de la Muerte)". A track with a strong Latin flavor enriched by the presence of Spanish singer Amparo Sanchez on vocals and seasoned with brass and relaxed atmospheres with a strong jazz foundation, with the piano taking center stage. A small musical journey with a high emotional rate along the American border, merging with the ancient and deep musical traditions of Mexico. Sort of an ideal bridge between the Mexican and Cuban sounds expressed over the years by the Buena Vista Social Club collective, absolutely memorable.

The splendid vocal harmonies of "Lucky Dime", for a light pop watercolor, played with a gentle touch, yet it excites from the beginning. The alternation and blending of the voices in the chorus are simply goosebump-inducing, all sealed by dreamy guitar solos. On the same relaxed atmospheres, the following "Smash" expands, a new journey into the most folk and roots musical soul of ours, with Burns' voice guiding us and a gentle pedal steel sprinkling magic over it. Very beautiful is also the central crescendo, driven by the drums, to then return to the initial melody. "Deep Down" is instead a pop rock song with a driving beat, opened by a captivating acoustic guitar riff and then growing in power and speed towards the end.
Much darker and softer is the slowed-down "Nom de Plume" with strong French flavors with Martin Wenk's banjo and Convertino's drums seasoning it all. Instead, "All Systems Red" starts slow and introspective and then floods into murky electric atmospheres full of feedback, with ample space for improvisation for what is surely the most rock song on the album. "Landing Field" and "Cast Your Coat" are two bonus tracks with a high emotional content and great value that would not look out of place as actual songs of the album. The first is a beautiful piano ballad performed by Joey Burns alone, who thus has the opportunity to showcase all his songwriting talent and his beautiful voice. The second is instead a dreamy and lunar composition by Burns himself assisted by synths and vibraphone.

Worthy of mention is also the DVD attached to the album (in the digipack version), which has the merit of showing us the making of the entire album as well as an interview with the two leaders and the entire band. With "Garden Ruin," Calexico has perhaps taken their most ambitious step, but they have given birth to an album of great depth and disarming beauty. An album that will win you over and move you from the first listen. So a big applause goes to our heroes! Bravo, Well done, Encore!