Calexico – El Mirador [ANTI-]
The tea leaf reading for those cribbing notes on Calexico: El Mirador, the once-Tucson-based collective’s 10th studio LP, is the group’s most Latin-based work to date, its bravest outing since 2012’s Algiers, and one of the best records of 2022’s first half.
The band wastes little time nailing down the sum total of its thesis statement, starting with the high drama of the enigmatic title track, a lurch of sorts soaked in Mezcal that the band fully embraces.
The whole record, in fact, begs listeners to drop their kicks and come storming to the dancefloor. “Cumbia Peninsula,” a take on the Colombian song form, slinks and shuffles along beautifully, which is the kind of rhythmic thrum we’ve come to expect from Joey Burns and John Convertino. “Cumbia del Polvo,” another stab at the form, is even more exotic and dancefloor-ready, with Burns’ guitars as slithering snakes and Convertino’s percussion almost entirely hand drums and maracas.
This being Calexico, there’s a little Americana Tex to go with the rumbling Mex, and songs like “El Paso,” a folksy, border-jumping tribute to Convertino’s new hometown, and the ballad “Constellation” shine. Burns’ guitar takes a mysterious step out on “Turquoise,” calling to mind the shadows it formulated on tracks like “Bloodflow,” off 1998’s The Black Light.
If it took four years of percolation to perfect El Mirador, I firmly encourage Burns and Convertino to sit on their material again next time. – Justin Vellucci, Spectrum Culture, July 1, 2022
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