They call New Orleans a melting pot. When one thinks about it like that, it’s hardly surprising that this is where CALEXICO reconvened to record their seventh full-length album, ALGIERS. Joey Burns and John Convertino have long called upon an extended range of musical influences, blending them together so distinctly that the results have almost become a genre of their own. Nonetheless, the choice of New Orleans may still come as a surprise to many. CALEXICO are, after all, associated with a style that their name – borrowed from a small town of less than 40,000 inhabitants on the border between the US and Mexico – has always defined with an unusual precision. Their work has spoken of dusty deserts and the loners that inhabit them, mixing America’s country music heritage with that of a Latin persuasion. In other words, it isn’t obviously affiliated with the sounds that have made New Orleans one of the premiere tourist destinations in the US. What’s emerged as a result of this decision, however, is arguably the most exciting and accessible record CALEXICO have made. It’s a fact emphasised by the band’s decision to name the album in tribute to the neighbourhood where they worked: Algiers.
Mondays from 9-10pm CST on WRLT/Lightning 100, Nashville’s Independent Radio lightning100.com
Indie Underground Hour 11-12-12 Toy – Motoring (Toy, Heavenly Recordings) The Babies – Moonlight Mile (Our House On The Hill, Woodsist) The Soft Pack – Second Look (Strapped, Mexican Summer) Calexico – Splitter (Algiers, Anti-) Cody ChesnuTT – I’ve Been Life (Landing On A Hundred, Redeye) Ruby Velle & The Soulphonics – My Dear (It’s About Time, Gemco Records) Ponychase – Cup Of Hearts (Ponychase 10″, self-released) Black Moth Super Rainbow – The Healing Power Of Nothing (Cobra Juicy, Rad Cult) The Black Keys w/ RZA – The Baddest Man Alive (The Man With The Iron Fists, Soul Temple) Guided By Voices – She Lives In An Airport (The Bears For Lunch, GBV Inc) Buddy Miller & Jim Lauderdale – I Lost My Job Of Loving You (Buddy & Jim, New West) Andrew Combs – Big Bad Love (Worried Man, Coin Records) Freelance Whales – Spitting Image (Diluvia, Mom+Pop)
They call New Orleans a melting pot. When one thinks about it like that, it’s hardly surprising that this is where CALEXICO reconvened to record their seventh full-length album, ALGIERS. Joey Burns and John Convertino have long called upon an extended range of musical influences, blending them together so distinctly that the results have almost become a genre of their own. Nonetheless, the choice of New Orleans may still come as a surprise to many. CALEXICO are, after all, associated with a style that their name – borrowed from a small town of less than 40,000 inhabitants on the border between the US and Mexico – has always defined with an unusual precision. Their work has spoken of dusty deserts and the loners that inhabit them, mixing America’s country music heritage with that of a Latin persuasion. In other words, it isn’t obviously affiliated with the sounds that have made New Orleans one of the premiere tourist destinations in the US. What’s emerged as a result of this decision, however, is arguably the most exciting and accessible record CALEXICO have made. It’s a fact emphasised by the band’s decision to name the album in tribute to the neighbourhood where they worked: Algiers.