It has been eleven years since the first Calexico record was released, and despite the lengthy experience of founders Joey Burns and John Convertino, many of the same methods of producing the group’s records took shape in its latest LP, Carried to Dust (Touch and Go).
According to Burns, Calexico is still recording its albums in the same studio, with the same mixer, since 1998. With one minor deterrence in recording location, the group has, for the most part, stuck to what it knows. But that’s not to say that the group hasn’t experimented; followers of Calexico will note the increased use of vocals throughout its albums, as well as the move from a stronger Southwestern sound to one of multi-faceted pop balladry.
“Hopefully, the vocals are a little more confident sounding,” says Burns, the band’s main vocalist. “I would also hope that there’s a little more improvement in the style and writing.”
Indeed, Carried to Dust is Burns and Convertino at their peak, meshing mobile melodies with haunting harmonies, stripped-down structures, and Burns’ expressive voice. In addition to the extra vocals, the band continues to experiment with style and lyrics, and the album includes a bevy of collaborators such as Tortoise bassist/co-founder Doug McCombs and past collaborator Sam Beam of Iron and Wine, the latter of whom worked with Calexico for the joint EP In the Reins.
“It wasn’t intentional at the beginning,” Burns says of the guests. “But after a while we kind of just felt like, ‘Why not? Let’s see if our friends, who come from various places and countries, want to sit in on a song or a vocal line here or there.'”
That collaborative spirit is at the core of Carried to Dust, yet Burns describes the process as “backward” as it took more than 10 months.
“Well, we started off by going into the studio not to record but to write,” he says. “So we did some work and then took a break.”
That break included tours through Europe and South America with intermittent trips to the studio squeezed between. The less-than-structured atmosphere, however, was much more beneficial than one might expect.
“We backed ourselves into a record,” Burns says. “We don’t really do much demo-ing or practicing, so one of the benefits that I get is that we get really spontaneous on tracks.”
In turn, that spontaneity gives the band leeway when choosing tracks for its records. With Carried to Dust, for example, over 30 tracks were produced.
“We just kind of go by what sounds good at the moment and see if they sound good with others that sound good,” Burns says. “Hopefully by then, you have at least the bulk of the kind of album you’re working towards.”
— Britt Julious
Calexico: www.casadecalexico.com
Touch and Go: www.touchandgorecords.com