“We were talking about wanting to go to Europe and record,” Burns says, “but we never get our shit together in time to make plans that far in advance. So where do you go…? New Orleans.”
Collaborator, Producer – Craig Schumacher
As with all of Calexico’s albums there is a narrative that features lyrically in several of the songs. ‘Epic’, the first track on the album, provides a familiar introduction with its soft melody and romantic lyrics. The song begins the album with a melancholic and subtle play of their instruments. ‘Splitter’, released as a single in July, is an upbeat tune with rhythmic guitar and drums. The vocal melody and dynamic guitar playing on ‘Sinner is the Sea’ are strangely reminiscent of Jace Everett’s ‘Bad Things’, which features as the theme tune to HBO series True Blood. Lyrically, it’s the strongest track on the album.
In a recent interview, Burns attributed influence on the album to time the band spent in Havana where they worked with singer and guitarist Amparo Sanchez, which can be heard clearly on ‘No te Vayas’ and ‘Puerto’ – both of which are sung part in Spanish to Latin rhythms. ‘Para’, which was released in June, was rumored to almost not to have been included on the album, its brooding lyrics and rich catchy melody make it an easy listen and it is suited to a stadium. An excellent rendition of the song, recorded with a full orchestra on their recent visit to Austria, can be found just a click away on Youtube. ‘Hush’, the penultimate track matches Burns soft whispering voice against the gentle and growing strums of his guitar. It also features Paul Niehaus on both his trademark pedal steel and the ole’ Moog synth.
http://www.anti.com/catalog/view/196/Algiers
Release Date 10/09/2012 (City Slang)