Amazon.co.uk Review
It takes time to digest this
Feast of Wire. The melodic appeal of Calexico's fourth album is not instantaneous, these evocative sounds taking time with their bodily infusion. The studio manifestation of Calexico is centred around impressively multi-instrumental busybody Joey Burns and the more single-minded (but equally sensitive) percussion specialist John Convertino. The current road-band members are also on hand to contribute their own shadings, along with a strong contingent of string players and backing singers.
Recorded at home in Tucson, Arizona, all of the tunes are quite short, lending an episodic, soundtrack quality. The canvas is extremely broad, with horns and strings colouring the edges, while Burns tinkers about on accordion, organ, mandolin, melodica and synths. "Sunken Waltz" makes a modest opener, a traipsing ballad that's quickly overtaken by the rubberised bounce of "Quattro". "Black Heart" provides an early peak, its unearthly string arrangement backing a beautifully resigned Burns vocal. It's like an old 78 record, remixed last week, ending with a decelerated glide that crackles with electronic interference. "Attack El Robot! Attack!" is also rife with electro-roughage, blanketing its toytown guitar figures and brass fanfares. These instrumental vignettes have a habit of linking up the more reclined narrative-based songs. The more overtly Mexican material is saved until close to the finish, with the quavering trumpets and weeping violins of "Dub Latina" and "Guero Canelo" contributing to a more typically Calexico-ed sound, if such a thing is still possible. --Martin Longley
CD Description
'Feast Of Wire' is the fourth studio album from Tuscon, Arizona's Calexico. Produced by long time collaborator, Craig Schumacher, the album scales back the Mariachi sound that appears on previous work and sees the band add an extra dimension to their Spaghetti Western styled alt. country sound, by bringing synthesizers and drum machines into the mix.
