Named after the district of New Orleans in which it was recorded, Joey Burns’ and John Convertino’s sixth album breaks new ground for Calexico. It retains many of the marks of the band’s distinctive rootsy, border sound — mariachi horns and brushed percussion — but introduces a poppier, more accessible element.
For the most part it works very well, particularly to the extent that it seems to reflect the surroundings in which it was created. The Calexico of albums past evoke vast skies, dusty landscapes and desert towns, that strange, decaying, near-empty space that divides America from Mexico, where country music is infused with Latin tones that speak of something dramatic, mysterious and tense. Algiers feels like an album born in a city. There are moments, such as the moody, menacing ‘Peurto’, that conjure claustrophobia and confusion in that seductive way that attracts people to the dense, crazed bustle of big cities.
Algiers gets off to a cracking start with the soaring ‘Epic’, followed by the equally driving and uplifting ‘Splitter’, arguably the best track on the album. It’s an elegant, punchy, sweeping track with an irresistible hook, and marked by the kind of dramatic urgency that Arcade Fire do so well. Tight, acoustic folk-pop with lush orchestration, expansive arrangements and wonderful harmonies, gives way to the twisted, Latin rhythms of ‘Sinner In the Sea’. Later in the album the instrumental title track and Spanish language number ‘No Te Vayas’ provide more in the way of classic Calexico at their cinematic, spaghetti western best.
There are a few songs that don’t quite work. The pedestrian and directionless ‘Maybe On Monday’ is alt-country by numbers, and ‘Fortune Teller’, although perfectly pleasant in itself, feels a little forced and formulaic. They lack a sense of occasion — the best Calexico songs always sound as if something important is at stake.
Review by: Rachel Devine
Music Video
The Making of Algiers
Album Stream
Free Download
Tour Dates
Sep 14-30 with Laura Gibson
Sep 14 – Cologne, GER – E-Werk
Sep 15 – Groningen, NL – Take Root Festival
Sep 16 – Paris, FRA – Le Trianon
Sep 18 – London, UK – HMV Forum
Sep 19 – Brussels, BEL – Ancienne Belgique – SOLD OUT
Sep 20 – Darmstadt, GER – Centralstation
Sep 21 – Zurich, SWI – Volkshaus
Sep 22 – Vienna, AUS – Wiener Konzerthaus
Sep 23 – Berlin, GER – Huxley’s Neue Welt – SOLD OUT
Sep 25 – Hamburg, GER – Grobe Freiheit 36
Sep 26 – Copenhagen, DEN – Vega
Sep 28 – Stockholm, SWE – Berns
Sep 29 – Goteburg, SWE – Pustervik
Sep 30 – Malmo, SWE – Kulturbolaget
Oct 10-28 with The Dodos
Oct 10 – Boston, MA – The Royale
Oct 11 – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club
Oct 12 – Philadelphia, PA – Union Transfer
Oct 13 – New York, NY – Webster Hall
Oct 14 – Pittsburgh, PA – Mr. Smalls
Oct 15 – Chicago, IL – Lincoln Hall
Oct 16 – Minneapolis, MN – The Fine Line
Oct 19 – Seattle, WA – The Neptune
Oct 20 – Vancouver, BC – Rickshaw Theatre
Oct 21 – Portland, OR – The Aladdin
Oct 23 – San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore
Oct 24 – Los Angeles, CA – The Fonda
Oct 25 – Solana Beach, CA – The Belly Up
Oct 26 – Tucson, AZ – The Rialto
Oct 27 – Phoenix, AZ – The Crescent Ballroom
Oct 28 – Phoenix, AZ – The Crescent Ballroom
Nov 09 – Madrid, SPA – Teatro Kapital
Nov 10 – San Sebastian, SPA – Teatro Victoria Eugenia
Nov 11 – Barcelona, SPA – Apolo
Nov 12 – Montpellier, FRA – Le Rockstor
Nov 13 – Milan, IT – Alcatraz
Nov 14 – Bologna, IT – Estragon
Nov 15 – Basel, SWI – Volkshaus Basel
Nov 16 – Leipzig, GER – Werk 2
Nov 18 – Wiesbaden, GER – Schlachthof Wiesbaden
Nov 20 – Luxembourg, LUX – Den Atelier
Nov 21 – Amsterdam, NL – Paradiso
Nov 22 – Cesson Sevigne, FR – Le Carre Sevigne
Nov 23 – Massy, FRA – Paul B
Nov 24 – Strasbourg, FR – Le Laiterie
Nov 26 – Linz, AUS – Posthof
Nov 27 – Zagreb, CRO – Tvornica Culture
Nov 28 – Salzburg, AUS – Republic
Nov 29 – Munich, GER – Muffathalle
Feb 14 – Dublin, IR – Olympia (ON SALE Sep 14)
Feb 15 – Glasgow, UK – O2 ABC (ON SALE Sep 14)
Feb 16 – Manchester, UK – HMV Ritz (ON SALE Sep 14)
Feb 17 – Leeds, UK – Metropolitan University (ON SALE Sep 14)
Feb 18 – Bristol, UK – O2 Academy (ON SALE Sep 14)
Feb 19 – Brighton, UK – Corn Exchange (ON SALE Sep 14)
Feb 21 – Den Haag, NL – Paard van Troje
Feb 22 – Utrecht, NL – Tivoli
Feb 23 – Leuven, NL – Het Depot
Algiers is released on Sept 10th via City Slang in the UK & Europe. Buy it from our store here.