Calexico - Carried To Dust (2008)

Artist...............: Calexico
Album................: Carried To Dust
Genre................: Folk Rock Country
Source...............: Cd
Year.................: 2008
Ripper...............: Exact Audio Copy
Codec................: FLAC
Information..........: TntVillage
Covers...............: Front
Total Size...........: 309 Mb


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From its beautiful, spray-painted stencil artwork (courtesy of longtime Calexico cover artist Victor

Gastelum) to the sounds within it, Carried to Dust recalls previous Calexico high points like The

Black Light and, especially, Feast of Wire. Considering that Joey Burns and John Convertino reunited

with many of the Feast of Wire players for these songs, the similarities shouldn't come as a surprise

-- nor should Calexico's skill at revisiting older territory and finding new outcroppings in it.

"Victor Jara's Hands," a tribute to the Chilean poet/musician/political activist who was murdered in

1973, begins Carried to Dust in quintessential Calexico fashion with intricate rhythms from

Convertino and swells of mariachi horns, but the guest vocals by Jairo Zavala of the Spanish band

Depedro add an extra, eloquent depth. "El Gatillo (Trigger Revisited)" returns to the rhythms and

melody of The Black Light's "Trigger," but transforms them into a tense spaghetti western theme.
The thoughtful, whispery pop Calexico dove into on Garden Ruin also gets its due here; unlike that

album, which was so gentle that its charms took awhile to unfold, Carried to Dust's quiet moments are

often just as vivid as the flamboyant ones. "House of Valparaiso," which features Iron & Wine's Sam

Beam, "Writer's Minor Holiday"'s twangy pop, and "Slowness"'s sweetly ambling country duet sound even

brighter next to "Inspiracion"'s en Espanol lovelorn drama or "Two Silver Trees"' gorgeously shadowy

fusion of Latin and Asian elements -- Calexico is one of a handful of groups that would think of

combining Chinese guizeng, Venezuelan cuatro, and omnichord on one song and make all those sounds

work together in a completely natural way. Carried to Dust also has subtler moments of innovation,

such as "Bend to the Road," which expands on Calexico's southwestern jazz leanings, and "Contention

City," a collaboration with Tortoise's Doug McCombs that spins toy piano and electronics into a

haunting finale. Carried to Dust isn't just one of Calexico's most expansive albums, it's also their

most balanced, channeling their experience and potential into a subtly dramatic, chiaroscuro tour de

force.


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Tracklist
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01. Victor Jara's Hands
02. Two Silver Trees
03. The News About William
04. Sarabande in Pencil Form
05. Writer's Minor Holiday
06. Man Made Lake
07. Inspiracion
08. House of Valparaiso
09. Slowness
10. Hole in Your Head (Bend to the Road)
11. El Gatillo (Trigger Revisited)
12. Fractured Air (Tornado Watch)
13. Falling from Sleeves
14. Red Blooms
15. Contention City