Calexico - Aerocalexico (Great collection 2001)

This is one of the better odds and ends collections you'll run across from any band -- with one or two more vocal tracks, and a pinch more of their mariachi-surf-Ennio Morricone signature sound; this tour/website disc would be indistinguishable from the band's official releases and arguably as good. That's because Aerocalexico is home to some of the band's best songs, B-sides, and compilation entries, like the hard-driving "Crooked Road & the Briar," the holiday song "Gift X-Change," covers of the traditional ("All the Pretty Horses"), Nick Drake's "Clothes of Sand," and yet another version of "Crystal Frontier" (the band's EP, Even My Sure Things Fall Through, features two more versions). Many of the vocal-less interludes may be little more than studio snippets that don't amount to too much taken out of context (eight of the 23 tracks are under one minute long), but woven together they form a cohesive quilt for the traditional songs, and some of the more elaborate instrumentals. Some of the soundscapes stand on their own quite well, offering a compendium of the Calexico stylebook: "Blacktop" features tape loops, synth wash, and a slightly distorted nylon-stringed guitar accompanying the grizzled voice of Southwest historian and author Lawrence Clark Powell; "Impromptu for Piano & Contrabass" is a moody, Erik Satie-inspired composition showcasing the classical leanings of bandleaders Joey Burns (contrabass), and John Convertino (piano); the desert noir-like "Sequoia" is an evocative, image-conjuring soundtrack; and the full-band treatment that Goldfrapp's "Humano" gets morphs it from an electronica James Bond homage into a jazz-inflected, instrumental rave-up. Calexico is one of indie rock's more imaginative musical collectives, and Aerocalexico is a wide-ranging document of their talents and influences, despite its humble origins.

AMG Review by John Schacht

Calexico - Hot Rail (2000 Indie Rock)

Continuing the Tijuana Brass meets Giant Sand and Ennio Morricone in a dark neuvo-waveo spaghetti Western approach they've gradually refined over the past two albums, multi-instrumentalists John Convertino and Joey Burns keep exploring terrain they've uniquely staked out. While not as cinematic, sprawling, and impressive as 1998's The Black Light, the duo create vivid soundscapes as dry, hot, and shimmering as the weather of their Tucson, Arizona home. Although they subtly expand their palette in all sorts of interesting ways, the spooky, late-'70s Miles Davis feel they inject into the nearly eight-minute "Fade" through jazzy drums, spacy vibes, and ominous cello works best. The songs, especially the appropriately named atmospheric instrumentals "Untitled II" and "Untitled III" tend to meander, but the duo keeps peeling back more layers and different instruments to pull the listener's interest. "Sonic Wind" and "Ballad of Cable Hogue" are as succinct, melodic, and tight as they've ever been, and Joey Burns' yearning, whisper of a voice suits this evocative music perfectly. This could easily turn into schtick, though, and it's to the duo's credit that they not only take themselves seriously, but don't pummel their weirdness into the ground. Instead, they push and knead the already elastic boundaries of a genre they've practically created, in jazzy, bluesy, and experimental directions that indicate they have a rich future ahead of them. Hot Rail isn't a great album; it's far too spotty and inconsistent musically. But it's an important one because it proves Calexico isn't content to remain stuck in an intriguing but limiting rut and is willing to explore new sonic directions while maintaining a distinctive identity and vision.

AMG Review by Hal Horowitz