Calexico: Edge of the Sun | Album Review

The concept of performative silence is intriguing – that what is left unsaid can mean as much as what is uttered. John Convertino agrees. "We make sure to give the notes we don't play as much emphasis as the notes we do play because they are just as important. It's a big part of what Calexico does: we create a space." Appreciating that space is key to entering Calexico's world of border musics and crossover cultures but for their ninth album the force behind the band, Convertino and Joey Burns, opted to move beyond their Tucson, Arizona, base. The songs and their characters also seem less rooted, an impression underlined by the number of guests. For example Sam Beam's contribution, Bullets & Rocks, could be a great Iron & Wine track. Yet the spine is impressively Calexican in the shape of the cinematic instrumental Coyoacán or the vibrant twang of Beneath the City of Dreams.