Hot Rail

Magnet - "...It's all drunkenly cinematic, as prickly as cactus and smart as hell, a fly-splattered vista of tumbling tumbleweeds and wide-open spaces..." Entertainment Weekly - "...These country-rock abstractionists make songs full of Sergio Leone set pieces and Mexicali blues, with random bursts of jazz swagger...and pop bliss..." - Rating: B+ Uncut - 4 stars out of 5 - "...Calexico transports you to a place where the sun's hot enough to bake bricks and there are always mangy dogs in the shade....Saddle up, it's showtime..." Mojo - 5 stars out of 5 - "...The music is often sensuous and sparkly....Seductive, stirring songs about crushed hope and the corruption of beauty and some of their most ambitious arrangements make this their most fully-realised and accomplished album yet..." Q - Ranked #48 in Q's "The 50 Best Albums of 2003" - "This is another diverse collection, with Latin shuffles, slow waltzes and would-be spaghetti western soundtracks all queuing up for a turn in the spotlight." Uncut - Ranked #49 in Uncut's "Albums Of The Year 2003" Mojo - Ranked #35 in Mojo's "The Best of 2003" The Wire - "...They create a space for the listener to appreciate the music's constituent parts at the same time as measuring its overall impact....Their instrumentals run from the briefest of acoustic interludes to beautifully arranged soundtracks..." Mojo - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[T]hey almost found a pop voice, albeit one with mariachi horns, snaking Latin beats and an occasional hint of smoky jazz." Q - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[A] set of succinct, evocative songs."

Feast of Wire does indeed offer a tantalizing array of sounds new and old from Calexico, including more pop-oriented takes on their already eclectic style as well as some different sonic twists. Though the album features plenty of the atmospheric interludes of their previous work -- such as the squelchy, piano-based "Stucco" and the cello- and pedal-steel-driven "Whipping the Horse's Eye" -- the overall feel of Feast of Wire is one of restraint and refinement. The album's longest song, the gorgeous, film noir/spaghetti western fusion "Black Heart," tops out at just under five minutes, and the vast majority of the tracks barely make it past the three-minute mark -- not enough time for experimentation to turn into self-indulgence. However, it feels like these shorter compositions have more impact: "Sunken Waltz" sketches a vignette of Southwestern despair with just acoustic guitar, brushed drums, accordion, and Joey Burns' papery vocals. Burns' voice plays a larger part on Feast of Wire than on previous Calexico albums, adding a humble charm to sweeping songs like "Quattro (World Drifts In)." Despite its seeming limitations, Burns' small, parched-sounding instrument is surprisingly versatile, lending a Dylan-like cast to the aforementioned "Black Heart" and a Dean Wareham-like drawl to the lilting Tex-Mex melody of "Across the Wire." Burns' vocals also dominate Feast of Wire's most uniquely accessible moments: "Stevie Nicks," a surprisingly, sunny bit of folk-rock, and the quiet, alt-country-ish "Woven Birds." But despite the steps forward Calexico makes on this album, the band still has time for their more traditional, instrumental-based music, exemplified here by "Dub Latina," "Pepita," and "Guero Canelo." The second half of Feast of Wire in particular sounds more like what you'd expect from a Calexico album, and the group touches on the different facets of that style, including the kitschy-cool "Attack el Robot! Attack," which with its crunchy drums and gurgling synths, does sort of sound like it could be from a Mexican sci-fi movie; the shuffling Latin beat, pedal steel, and mod horns on "Close Behind" give it a Morricone-meets-mariachi feel that makes it a quintessential Calexico track; and best of all, "Crumble" builds on the smoky, jazzy side of their sound that they began developing in earnest on The Hot Rail. In the hands of a lesser band, all the different sounds Calexico explore on Feast of Wire could result in a mish-mash of an album, but fortunately for them and their fans, it's one of their most accomplished and exciting efforts. ~ Heather Phares|