Calexico — Carried To Dust

Calexico have always released great albums, and Carried To Dust, their sixth full-length, is yet another gem in their catalogue. While it's not nearly as good — or as over-the-top weird (weird for Calexico, at least) — as 2003's Feast Of Wire, it's got some pretty fantastic moments and still defies classification. In fact, its quietness is its strength. There's a subtle sense of listlessness and melancholy woven throughout the disc, and that works well with the subject matter. Carried To Dust tells the story of a writer on a road trip in search of inspiration, and features guest appearances from Iron & Wine and Tortoise's Doug Brown. Things kick off slowly with "Victor Jara's Hands," a quiet tune that soon picks up into a catchy, almost Mexican chorus. The Spanish "Inspiracion" features guest vocals from singer/songwriter Pieta Brown and Mariachi horns. A few tracks later there's "Slowness," which is nearly alt.country, and the instrumental "El Gatillo (Trigger Revisited)," which, had it been written a few years ago, could probably (and ironically) been used in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill films. While there's no ridiculous track like Feast Of Wire's "Corona," this is an album to play while sitting on your front or back porch with a beer while wiling the last few warm days of the year away.