Artist...............: Calexico
Album................: Hot Rail
Genre................: Folk Rock Country
Source...............: Cd
Year.................: 2000
Ripper...............: Exact Audio Copy
Codec................: FLAC
Information..........: TntVillage
Covers...............: Front
Total Size...........: 325 Mb
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Rewiev
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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.
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Tracklist
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01. El Picador
02. Ballad of Cable Hogue
03. Ritual Road Map
04. Fade
05. Untitled III
06. Sonic Wind
07. Muleta
08. Midtown
09. Service and Repair
10. Untitled II
11. Drenched
12. 16 Track Scratch
13. Tres Avisos
14. Hot Rail
