OR   Search for Artist/Title    Advanced Search
 
you are not logged in...  [login] 
All Reviews    Edit This Review     
Review: 'CALEXICO'
'Edge Of The Sun'   

-  Label: 'City Slang'
-  Genre: 'Alt/Country' -  Release Date: '13th April 2015'-  Catalogue No: 'Slang50072'

Our Rating:
The modus operandi of Joey Burns and John Convertino has always been to make music without borders. John Peel once said that Calexico were the band he'd most like to be part of because of their sense of space and freedom.

The key to their success over the years has rested on the two founder member's openness to collaboration with an eclectic range of global musicians both on stage and in the studio.

This impetus is even more defined on the Arizona band's ninth album, in which almost every song has a different guest.

By now, such is the richness of their musical network, the duo are able to call upon major talents from Madrid, Mexico, Athens, Nashville, Tucson, El Paso and Berlin.

As if this wasn't enough to get the creative juices flowing, Burns and Convertino also followed the advice of keyboardist, Sergio Mendoza and took a writing retreat in the historic Mexico City borough of Coyoacàn.

All this raises high hopes of a return to the widescreen glory of the band's Tex-Mex roots yet, ironically, the album mostly resembles the melodic pop direction of the excellent, but relatively mainstream, Feast of Wire from 2003.

The opening track Falling From The Sky where Ben Bridwell from Band of Horses guests, is just the first of a series of business as usual tunes despite Burns' description of it as "an attempt at to convey the importance of mystery and magic in our lives".

Meanwhile the pedal steel of Greg Leisz and Dylanesque organ of Mendoza on When The Angels Played remind us why Calexico are still routinely filed under the Alt.Country/Americana label.

Having set the bar so high with classic albums like The Black Light and Hot Rail it is almost inevitable that any new Calexico record will pale in comparison. Beneath The City Of Dreams (with vocals from Gaby Moreno) is like a cross between Crystal Frontier and The Ballad Of Cable Hogue but falls well short of those hits.

As in the past, female singers are used very effectively. The peerless Neko Case adds a touch of class to Tapping On The Line while Mexico's rising star Carla Morrison shines on the reggae tinged Moon Never Rises singing in English but also lamenting "Sin amor la luna no brilla en mi" (the moon doesn't shine in me).

Perhaps recalling the split EP 'In The Reins', Joey Burns asked Mr. Iron & Wine (Sam Beam) to add some vocals to Bullets & Rocks. Beam was happy to oblige on a track which also features Jairo Zavala from Spain on electric guitar and Adrian Perez from El Paso on Jalisco style harp. Despite these talents, the end result is a fairly bland blend of Norman Greenbaum's Spirit In The Sky and Déjà Vu era Crosby,Stills, Nash & Young.

Intention also fails to match application on the closing song Follow The River (with vocals by Devotchka's Nick Urata). This has strong echoes of All Systems Red, from Garden Ruins, but despite themes of resolve and perseverance, falls well short of that earlier track's drama and power.

It is disappointing that only the eccentric electronica of Cumbia De Donde (with vocals from Amparo Sanchez) and an instrumental Coyoacán, with Perez again, can truly be said to bear the fruits of Burns and Convertino's brief sojourn in Mexico.

Ironically, it is musicians from Greece which lend the album its most exotic quality. The beautifully atmospheric World Undone was partly recorded in Athens with two members of the Greek traditional band Takim: Thomas Konstantinou on lute, bouzouki and Yorgos Marinakis on 'traditional violin'. This track also benefits from the fact that Convertino's sublime percussive skills are more prominent in the mix.

The DNA of Calexico is such that they are incapable of making a bad record and the band have clearly lost none of their spirit and drive. Still, even as a confirmed fan, it's hard to shake the belief that they are playing safe with this record rather than striving for new heights.

With such a mouth-watering cast of co-players it does not seem unreasonable to expect more. This is a great record but it could have been greater.

Calexico's website
  author: Martin Raybould

[Show all reviews for this Artist]

READERS COMMENTS    10 comments still available (max 10)    [Click here to add your own comments]

There are currently no comments...
----------



CALEXICO - Edge Of The Sun