Tag Archive: Calexico


Best music of 2018

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December 25, 2018
laura-gibson-tenderness-song

Laura Gibson released my favorite album & song in 2018

In 2018 I reviewed 219 records for the Whisperin’ & Hollerin’ webzine. Of these, the following is a list of my ten favorite new albums and the top 5  reissues. You can read my reviews to all these on the W&H website to find out why.

TOP TEN BEST ALBUMS 2018
1. LAURA GIBSON – Goners
2. SARAH LOUISE – Deeper Woods
3. GWENNO – Le Kov
4. MARISSA NADLER – For My Crimes
5. JOAN AS POLICE WOMAN – Damned Devotion
6. MODERN STUDIES – Welcome Strangers
7. ETHAN GOLD – Live Undead Bedroom Closet Covers
8. THE BEVIS FROND – We’re Your Friends, Man
9. JIM JAMES – Uniform Distortion
10. IRON & WINE – Weed Garden EP

BEST REISSUES 2018
1. BUFFY SAINTE- MARIE – Medicine Songs
2. CALEXICO – The Black Light (20th Anniversary Edition)
3. BERT JANSCH – A Man I’d Rather Be
4. VARIOUS ARTISTS: PARADISE – THE SOUND OF IVOR RAYMONDE
5. DAVE EVANS – The Words In Between

SONG OF THE YEAR:
LAURA GIBSON – Domestication

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CALEXICO – LOOKING FOR THE ‘OOMPH’ FACTOR

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August 19, 2015

CALEXICO + SACRI CUORI

Live at the Rocca Malestestiana, Cesena, Italy 18th August 2015

calexico-poster“How do you say ‘oomph’ in Italian?” asks Joey Burns; as in ‘You need to give it more oomph’!

Fellow Calexico-in-chief and drummer, John Convertino shrugs his shoulders in reply.

Burns poses the question because he wants the crowd to show more grit, spunk, blood, fire, energy, passion; AND he wants them to raise the volume level for the big ‘whoooaaaa’ at the beginning of their supercharged rendition of Minutemen’s Corona.

With this prompt, he succeeds although, it’s fair to say, the overall level of enthusiasm ebbs and flows during the course of this 90 minute open air concert.

An obstacle to more universal acclaim lies in the fact that much of the newer material lacks the drama (oomph?) of Calexico’s earlier, more familiar songs. With notable exceptions, World Undone for example, these are less spacious or ambient in feel than the kind of widescreen post-Giant Sand tunes that distinguished an album such as The Black Light (1998). Continue reading →

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THE GAELIC FOR COP

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March 29, 2012

THE GUARD directed by John Michael McDonagh (Ireland, 2011)

This black comedy came to my attention by virtue of the fact that the original soundtrack is by Calexico. In the event, this is not one of its major selling points. The music of Joey Burns and John Convertino is more suited to a spaghetti western than a police caper set in Ireland.

The story is essentially a vehicle for Brendan Gleeson as Gerry Boyle a nihilistic sergeant of the Garda (gaelic for ‘cop’) . He  has the same droll, cynical manner as he had as the reluctant assassin he played for the film In Bruges, which was , not coincidentally, written and directed by the director’s brother, Martin McDonagh.

Boyle is no longer surprised by how stupid, cruel and corruptible human beings can be. He maintains his own unorthodox code of ethics which means that he sees nothing wrong with tampering with crime scenes, drinking on duty or hiring a couple of hookers on his day off. Continue reading →

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AEROCALEXICO – Our Soil, Our Strength

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March 23, 2012

I hate critics who, when rating an artist’s discography, choose an obscure release as their  favourite. Most of the time, the smug subtext is ‘I’ve heard this album and you probably haven’t but it’s the best thing they ever did’.

One of the best aspects of the download culture is that these pseudo-hipsters can quickly be exposed if/when they’re talking bollocks.

I write to preface my assertion that Aerocalexico is Calexico’s finest album.

This CD was originally limited to 2000 copies and available only at shows or via the Calexico website. This was in the year 2001, back in the day when ‘limited edition’ meant more than it does now. Nowadays, of course, there’s an unlimited supply of just about anything from your friendly neighborhood P2P file sharing website.

I bought this CD at a show the band from Tucson, Arizona played at the Vidia Club in Cesena, Italy and giving it a spin again now it struck what a truly great album it is.

Continue reading →
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RICHARD BUCKNER IN ITALY

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December 1, 2011

Richard Buckner’s one and only date in Italy (amazingly, his first ever concert in the country) is at the relatively modest Bronson Club in Ravenna.

He is backed by Sacri Cuori, a three-piece band from Emilia-Romagna – the location of this group explains the choice of venue. The band’s leader  – guitarist, Antonio Gramentieri – has been active in the region for a number of years, mainly at nearby Faenza with promoters Strade Blu. He has helped bring some class acts to the music starved region, mostly within the folk/alt.country genres – names such as Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, Howe Gelb, Devendra Banhart, Antony & The Johnsons, Steve Earle.

Sacri Cuori’s half hour support slot shows that they have picked up some pointers from such artists – their desert twang instrumentals would be well suited to a dusty American road movie. It’s a style that fits in well with Buckner whose past collaborations include a couple of albums with Giant Sand /Calexico’s Joey Burns and John Convertino.

Despite an unbroken run of superb albums from his 1994 debut Bloomed to this year’s Our Blood, Buckner still has cult status (i.e. too few fans). As a result there were only about 100 punters a Ravenna making for zero atmosphere.

Buckner and band seem unfazed by this and blaze through a set list  which includes the first seven tracks from Our Blood played in sequence  interspersed with other selections from his impressive back catalogue. Continue reading →

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