•
Rating: Recorded in a month, at the end of 1995, 'Spoke' (it should mean "spoke," like the ones on wheels, but it can also be interpreted as a form of "to speak") is the first (and also the lesser-known) Calexico product (the rhythmic offshoot of Giant Sands), excluding a self-produced "tape" a few months earlier.
In less than 45 minutes, a total of 19 tracks are packed in: fragments, rather. Fragments of sound and experimental noise, fragments of ideas, fragments of what will become the musical manifesto of the duo from Tucson. Although a bunch of credited friends supported in various capacities, in fact, the album is entirely played by Burns and Convertino. The former, besides offering his (captivating) voice, maneuvers between guitars, basses, harmonicas, cellos, and mandolins; the latter is in charge of the rhythm section, not shying away from making notable appearances with the acoustics and, above all, showcasing an almost African mastery of the marimba, a sort of xylophone originating — indeed — from the black continent.
Fragments, as mentioned. Like those of noise, whose presence owes much to the (entirely homemade, almost lo-fi) production method: creaking doors that then slam shut with force, journey announcements snatched from a train station, tapes screeching and whining until they tear, languidly Renaissance music boxes. Musical fragments: early signs of desert sound(scapes) are especially noticeable in three compositions: Sanchez (undoubtedly the album's peak), Point Vicente (which opens with the delightful voice of a little girl who seems to be searching for something/someone), and Wash (where Morricone references become more evident).
Pop fragments: like that of Glimpse, where a guitar riff even brings to mind Get Back by the Beatles. Also like that of Slag. Pseudo-punk fragments: the intro of Scout almost frightens, with a couple of chords of powerful electricity that evoke a continuation à la Clash.
Fragments of European ethnicism, with a brief but essential Mazurka and the gypsy Mazurra. And finally, fragments of fragments. It’s minimalism that closes the album suggested by Removed (a ballad accompanied by Burns' whispers), Hitch (perhaps the roughest track on this "Spoke"), and Stinging Nettle, characterized by a long and sustained arpeggio.
Unfortunately, and fortunately, there are fragments that are just fragments, unambitious minutes marked by simple melodic lines, so thin as to almost go unnoticed (Haul, Spokes, the same Low Expectations).
A debut for the Arizona collective, rated 6.5 (I hate stars).
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
04 Sanchez (03:15)
Going on their lands for sale to stake my claim
burn my name in the soil
out past the borders beyond the hill
through seasons of nothing
safe for the self-destructive world
memories get altered
no point of reference to hold
and it feels like someone is watching
asi tear into the skin of innoncence
and decadence for awhile
so we settled in and half the veins where blood runs pure
troubled the cure for a short while
out in the dust they suffocate the sprawl and greed
bent on breed and stare
and children stare
stare through shiny little boxes
over landscape that is quickly foiled
12 Point Vicente (03:53)
She swings on the front porch
and sweeps her days into an empty sky
of a dream drowned in the rain
out where the land is as flat as the sea
there's a train pulling out west
and a box of money stashed under the bed
up through the pines
and down into the city of light
where the world spins on a string
the weave of lovers weave meet their fate
down by the sea falls in love with the sailor who keeps the light house
storm comes in, smashes the shore
the sailor's duty comes calling
begging and pleading as she falls to the floor
she's left waiting
she waits at the front
her husband come wrapped around her
where she fell the stoop in the night
(...) all alone for months at a time
13 Wash (02:35)
light shines through darker days
eyes close and lose their way
slip away the night
while the whole town's asleep
caught between the space
where you wanted to be
death acts and life reacts
spent time turning looking back
clues along the track
leave the following kind
the ground that seems to be new
winding up the same every time
Loading comments slowly
