Elbow’s chummy front-man and earnest national treasure Guy Garvey is a keen admirer of the work of the revolving Californian outfit Calexico. Garvey gushes “They are one of those bands who make consistently great music under the radar, and will inevitably break into the mainstream”. The recommendation of an icon of mine was more than enough to guide me to the irresistible, Latin influenced rhythms of Calexico. For front-man Joey Burns, who lists Elbow as one of his favourite bands, the compliment is a source of great pride, he beems “Thank you Guy Garvey! Nice compliment. Maybe he would be into doing some work with us in the studio. That would be amazing!”.
In their native United States and on the continent, Calexico’s popularity far exceeds the cult following they have on these shores. When asked why he thinks this is, Burns is typically playful, “Good wine and cheese. Open palate and free thinkers”. Whilst this assessment may be a tad damning on us sonically rigid Brits, he later offers an interesting point, “Different languages and cultures are clustered close together in Europe”. Certainly the cultural melting pot of mainland Europe fits neatly with the vibrant feel of Calexico’s output, that takes in mariachi and country music as well as traditional rock sounds. Such an international feel is also inherent in the band’s name, taking head from a town on the California/Mexico border and “the notion of bringing two different cultures and ideas”.
The distinctly experimental feel of the band’s music, whilst securing headline spots at the likes of Benicassim Festival, their following in the UK is limited to musical encyclopaedias like Garvey. Burns though doesn’t seem too fussed about an unconquered frontier, having joked, “Why has our success not translated in the UK? I thought it had. Bummer, I guess I will have to tell the family
back home the bad news”, he goes on to say “Seriously though, the shows in the UK have been great for a band like ourselves with unusual musical influences”.
Yet in many ways it seems like Calexico do possess all the attributes for 21st century indie success. Reverence of indie rock icons- Check, “I think it would be important to dedicate the whole festival to the late great John Peel”. Celebrity encounters- Check, “Lance Armstrong
> came through Tucson recently wanting to hang out”. And a tech-savvy approach to the industry-Check, “People are looking to seek out good music that’s not part of the mainstream since the internet and blogs are a valuable resource these days”.
Yet in Britain, the experimental approach Calexico take to music making, leaves them a difficult proposition for commercial audiences. Yet thankfully, the band are not willing to compromise the style that has produced several stunning records, “I look in the studio and I see instruments from all parts of the world with an open slate, no holding back or defining what we can or cannot do”. It was a similarly liberal stance to the band’s musical potential produced the band’s defining record, ‘The Black Light’, a succinctly beautiful and bilingual concept album.
The notion of alienation, created by such experimentation, is one that sits comfortably with the ethos of the band, for their music reflects the idea of a group of people not exactly at one with what’s around them. Their friend and artist Victor Gastelum likened their music to the experiences of growing up as a Latino in Southern California, as some of the band did, “he didn’t fit in and like our music, he went a separate route, but benefited from strong influences and character”.
It is a sad indictment of our temporally concrete music landscape at present, that a band making music as inspired and progressive as Calexico, are ignored on the basis of having a sound based on international and experimental sounds that are largely unexplored by contemporary musicians. Not only could our largely sterile commercially popular music benefit from bands with the ambition of Calexico, it could also welcome men of Burns’ wit and humour. He is after all the first person I have encountered to use the word “spelunking”in conversation. This apparently, according to the urban dictionary, being “the act of exploring for the missing condom after deep penetration”. Whilst Calexico hope some much deserved commercial success may not be so arduous a task as the aforementioned horror, it is long overdue and richly deserved.