Calexico is one hot diggity dog damn fine band!

[Davey]

I've been listening a lot lately to the Calexico guys and they sure have turned into a hot band. Had last year's <i>Feast of Wire</i> playing a couple times through this afternoon while doing some work on the computer*, and have to admit that I kind of underappreciated this one last year. Not that I didn't think it was a good album, it just never quite sunk in how good it is until more recently. I think it was Sloshy who named it his best of the year back then, and I still wouldn't go that far, but it's certainly moved up higher on my (imaginary) list since then. Seems like almost everything they work on has an air of class about it, from the last Neko Case album, to all those Giant Sand albums with Howe Gelb, to all the other work with people like Barbara Manning and Lisa Germano and Richard Buckner and so many others. Guess they've become a highly prized session team for their rhythmic talents, in addition to creating a ton of very interesting music for their own frequent releases. Joey Burns has even grown into a pretty decent singer, at least one that I enjoy listening to. Think I might have to play it again or maybe dig out <i>The Black Light</i>....:)





<font size=-1>*gathering up some of my relatively recent reviews and adding them to a new mini-review page at my <a href=http://members.mailaka.net/davey/dbireviews.htm>site</a> - definitely need to update my comments on this one</font>

[Slosh]

...didn't you once have a Giant Sand comp? Thrill Jockey has an ad stating a new Giant Sand album is "on the horizon". Know anything about it?

Yeah, I picked Feast Of Wire as my best of '03 and I can live with that today :) I think of it as kind of a mood album. If you're in the right frame of mind it's an interesting journey. It's also one of those works that plays out much better as an album and not as a collection of songs. Haven't heard any of Convict Pool yet but I'm sure I'll end up with it when I come across it on vinyl for $7 or $8.

While I got you here, what's your rec for a Mogwai newbie?

NP: Modest Mouse - Good News.... yada yada yada

[tentoze]

...didn't you once have a Giant Sand comp? Thrill Jockey has an ad stating a new Giant Sand album is "on the horizon". Know anything about it?

Yeah, I picked Feast Of Wire as my best of '03 and I can live with that today :) I think of it as kind of a mood album. If you're in the right frame of mind it's an interesting journey. It's also one of those works that plays out much better as an album and not as a collection of songs. Haven't heard any of Convict Pool yet but I'm sure I'll end up with it when I come across it on vinyl for $7 or $8.

While I got you here, what's your rec for a Mogwai newbie?

NP: Modest Mouse - Good News.... yada yada yada
Davey's Giant Sand comp is muy bueno. ;) It gets some pretty regular spinnage around here. I warmed up to Feast of Wire more as I listened to it, but that one cut that made at least one comp around here, and probably more- (had to look)- Black Heart, catches me the wrong way, and I religiously skip it whenever I play the cd.

I've got 2 new-to-me cd's I'll play before the night is out- Mountain Goats' We Shall All Be Healed and Magnetic Fields' i. More on these after I hear em. Also, for Davey, ordered the D. Banhart release today.

[Dusty Chalk]

Picked up that cover of "Alone Again Or" (Love classic) on the Convict Pool EP, and I really like what they did with it. Sure, it was natural (enhance the mariachi flavour), but...who cares?

Plus, they're great live.

I would also recommend the Friends of Dean Martinez -- think instrumental, less mariachi, more psychedelic (albeit, not quite in the ...what was it, "Crystal Frontier"...direction? More just fuzzed out and buzzed out and just plain "stoner")...easily my favourites of the list of bands that have ever had anything to do with the members of Calexico (they're all over the The Shadow of Your Smile and Retrograde albums, at least).

[Davey]

...didn't you once have a Giant Sand comp? Thrill Jockey has an ad stating a new Giant Sand album is "on the horizon". Know anything about it?

While I got you here, what's your rec for a Mogwai newbie?
Yeah, I do have a <a href=http://members.mailaka.net/davey/dbicomps.htm#Roads_Are_Built_To_Wander><b>Giant Sand comp</b></a>, and as our good buddy tentoze so astutely pointed out, it is <i>muy bueno</i>. Haven't been paying much attention lately though. Seems like Howe has been putting out albums about twice a year, so I don't doubt he's got tons of material they could use. Not much else to do down here in the desert but write music and play your guitar. Well, I mean besides watching small animals explode from the heat, of course. They did get together as Giant Sand for the Covers album they did a couple years ago with a bunch of guests like Grandaddy and PJ Harvey and Neko Case, but I didn't know they had a new one in the works. I'll have to check around. I think Chore Of Enchantment from 2000 goes all the way back to 1998? since they got dropped by their label after recording it and had to buy it back and shop it around. Really nice album.

I think a lot of Mogwai's best songs are on the Young Team album, including Tracy, Summer, Like Herod, and the astonishing 16-minute Mogwai Fear Satan that closes it, so that would be my rec. All their releases have good songs, but none that many. Rock Action has some strong music and very nice sound too, but overall it's not quite as good to me. One nice thing about it though, Gruff Rhys from SFA does some background vocals and actually sings on one song, Dial: Revenge. And the Papa M guy, David Pajo, sings on another. Normally they're all instrumental so it's kind of a nice change of pace. Think I'll listen to it right now, as a matter of fact. If I had a copy of Come On Die Young and a couple of their EPs, I could make an outstanding comp of their best music. But I don't :)

NP: Opening strains of Sine Wave from Rock Action

[Stone]

Magnetic Fields' i . . . ordered the D. Banhart release today.

I'd like to know what you think of these once you spend some time with them. I have the first Devendra Banhart and it's good, and kind of reminds me of earlier Mountain Goats, but for some reason it's not one that was ever in heavy rotation. I should break it out today or tomorrow and listen to it again.

[Davey]

Thrill Jockey has an ad stating a new Giant Sand album is "on the horizon". Know anything about it?
Just poked around a bit and can't find much info to say whether John and Joey are on the new one or if Howe used other players. It is apparently done and awaiting release. Found these comments from earlier this year by Howe....

Date: Sun Jan 25 08:48
howe (home ???):
hi. i am here in italy. bologna. thinking about things. the new giant sand record seems to be done....but not as loud as i thought it would be...so the solo shows have taken on that volume instead lately. did an actual giant sand set with band in mallorca a few nights ago, and that still was not loud enough. but fun. i stopped in ottawa on the way out here to immediately work on the follow up record to the giant sand that got finished the night before in tucson. in canada the temps plunged to -43. celcius and fahrenheit become one and the same at -40, and it was just like the desert in its extreme way... well, literally its polar opposite. but oddly refreshing. and the folks up there are warm and the sounds are sweet, especially tinged with the gospel choir. but it sounds like a winter record to me...and the giant sand is definitely a summer one......so if thrill jockey will put up with the rapid output, they will get released with their intended seasons... aside from that. looking forward to japan soon. but first, john parish seems to be in rome, so maybe that is the way home. weary here, but loving the volume of volume....hope you all are having a decent new year too. ok. just wanted to say something. time for another perfect plate of pasta i guess. - howe

NP: Cat Power's classic <i>Moon Pix</i>

[tentoze]

I'd like to know what you think of these once you spend some time with them. I have the first Devendra Banhart and it's good, and kind of reminds me of earlier Mountain Goats, but for some reason it's not one that was ever in heavy rotation. I should break it out today or tomorrow and listen to it again.
Will do- spun both the Goats and Mag Fields just once each last night and wasn't bowled over by either of them, but mebbe they're growers.

[Slosh]

Just poked around a bit and can't find much info to say whether John and Joey are on the new one or if Howe used other players. It is apparently done and awaiting release.

Wow, you're on the ball today! Tired of waiting for exploding white mice? :p

Isn't a mogwai a gremlin in its pupa state?

~Slosh - depending on the kindness of strangers (a bloody stupid thing to do but sometimes it works ;) )