Calexico have crafted a horn, maraca and maybe tumbleweed-laden sound almost geographically located in Calexico, a town nigh the Californian-Mexican border. They cast a critical middle over their homeland, only from the storytelling angle of a striking writer who uses his free time to travel around the US. Victor Jara's Hands tells of a murdered political activist, subtly highlighting American imperialism. However, their music can sound both terrifically evocative or occasionally simulated - as authentic as a Mexican restaurant set in Milton Keynes - and lacks a dominant vocal like former bandmate Howe Gelb, of Giant Sand. Iron and Wine's Sam Beam also features on the record.
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