Musical reinvention can be overrated. If a band has crafted a distinct vision, it's satisfying to hear them do exactly what they do best. In the case of Calexico, that means to mine their conjunto/mariachi/indie rock trumpet-guitar-percussion groove for further insight and deeper richness. Calexico has evolved from guitarist/bassist Joey Burns and drummer John Convertino, into a larger group that includes multi-instrumentalist Sergio Mendoza and trumpeter Jacob Valenzuela, and for the past several years, Sam Beam of Iron & Wine. The music of the dreamier-than-usual El Mirador has Calexico's trademark cinematic sweep, verses sung in Spanish, Spaghetti Western overtones, traces of surf guitar reverb, and rhythms and an overall feel that is utterly unlike any other band making new music. It's completely original pop music, grounded in many traditions, as comfortable borrowing from conjunto and mariachi as it is from indie rock guitar. Burns and Convertino have mastered the art of absorbing influences from the American Southwest and paying them tribute in music that looks ahead rather than to the past. Another strength is the two's willingness to look for collaborators to add new flavors to their already piquant mix. Guatemalan Gaby Moreno sings background vocals on several tracks. Singer-songwriter Pieta Brown, daughter of Greg Brown, adds lyrics to several tunes. And Beam is back on vocals. While the album was recorded at Silverbell Studios in the band's former home of Tucson, Arizona, it was mastered in Portland by the finely attuned ears of Tucker Martine who has worked on projects with R.EM., Bill Frisell, and Courtney Barnett among many others.
The band works their instinctual magic on a pair of cumbias, "Cumbia Peninsula" and "Cumbia Del Polvo," which are both among the album's highlights. Camilo Lara, the moving force behind the electronic collective Mexican Institute of Sound, adds drum programming and synths to the latter. The wonderful "Liberada" features a quartet of male voices singing in Spanish joining in on the choruses of "Let my people know/ That tonight there is a party/ My uncle turns eighty/ And he brings fire on his hip." "El Paso" adds depth to another Calexico mode: the sinuous, tragic yet vaguely menacing tale that Burns delivers in a whisper. The singing trumpets, violins, and guitarrón (the large six-stringed bass foundational to mariachi bands) all combine in the celebratory, "The El Burro Song." Opening with rapid-fire picked guitar notes, "Then You Might See," with Brown contributing lyrics, is this album's melodic spaghetti western turned pop number. Instrumentals also feature on most Calexico albums and here "Turquoise" features Valenzuela's trumpet with a jazzy, Miles Davis-like piercing tone. The soaring "Constellation" is Burns' finest moment as a singer on the album. Once just the quiet bass player in Giant Sand, Burns has become an accomplished vocalist capable of robust singing as well as softer textures from pained murmurs to conspiratorial whispers. Imbued with even more imagination and musicality than usual, this is Burns and Convertino at their best. Viva Calexico! © Robert Baird/Qobuz