Calexico "Garden Ruin"

I remember reading an interview with Mark Kozelek of Red House Painters saying that he wasn’t interested in breaking new sonic territory so much as perfecting the same song he’d been working on for years. I cannot blame him for preferring this approach. Why fuck with a formula that works? Minute changes or alterations to songs are deceptively easy and, over time, add up to as much change as a sudden volte-face brings about. Calexico (the duo of Joey Burns and John Convertino), having become synonymous with sand-covered instrumentals and mariachi rock, certainly had a distinctive style that they had no reason to tinker with. Garden Ruin, while not a complete departure from their previous catalog, is a refreshing and exciting change of pace for them. The Southwestern touches are still present on tracks such as the sultry “Roka (Danza de la Muerte),” the opener “Cruel,” “Lucky Dime,” and “Panic Open String,” but they also come with pop flourishes unheard of in their normally dramatic pieces. The glockenspiel heard on “Cruel” and “Panic Open Strong” lends these songs a particularly delicate, light quality. Flirting with more conventional pop/rock song structures, Calexico add a wonderful dimension to their signature dusty sound. “Deep Down” is faster and rollicking and more prominently features electric guitar than was otherwise customary. Background harmonies support the pinched, almost desperate vocals of Burns, who unleashes the impassioned rocker within. “Letter to Bowie Knife” is an energetic, spirited nod to Ziggy Stardust-era Bowie. It’s a terrific homage to the singer’s iconic brand of acoustic glam pop. The closer, “All Systems Red,” is a jaw-dropper and leaves you wondering why they didn’t try something like it earlier. Starting off as a gentle acoustic tune, the song gradually builds to guitars screeching, Burns reaching to the top of his register, and noise (!) entering the mix. The song eventually careens into a fittingly messy conclusion, knowing it’s impossible to sustain that kind of fiery ardor for too long. “All Systems Red” is a revelation and a hugely promising sign of the direction Calexico might be headed toward. With Garden Ruin, Calexico tool around with their trademark aesthetic and it comes out better than intact.