This desert noir soundtracker stands out for a reason. Spinning sinister tales of border-blurring folk, rock and pop, Joey Burns and John Convertino’s brainchild has mastered the the sound America makes when its border with Mexico implodes of its own weight. I reviewed Calexico’s latest disc, which dropped today for Metromix, and spieled on its latest video for “Two Silver Trees” for Wired. Enjoy.

Calexico, Carried to Dust
The band has set the bar high, but it more than exceeds expectations here. The unrestrained guitar solo is a new wrinkle on the otherwise sedate “Man Made Lake,” while the cameo Spanish serenades on “Victor Jara’s Hands” and “Inspiration” boast less salsa and more psychedelics. Burns’ refreshing croon is in fine form and matches up nicely with the desolate piano of the moving “Two Silver Trees.” The mournful soundtracking of “Falling From Sleeves” sounds like it might have stepped fully formed out of “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.” Throw in guest work from Iron and Wine’s Sam Beam, Tortoise’s Doug McCombs and more, and you end up with one of Calexico most spaced-out efforts in its storied history. MORE @ METROMIX

Video: Calexico’s Desert Noir Turns Plaid
There’s little of that desert-noir drama — found in Calexico’s classic tunes “Crooked Road and the Briar” and “Black Heart” respectively — in this video for “Two Silver Trees.” No, the first single from Calexico’s newest effort Carried to Dust, out September 2 from Quarterstick Records, is more interested in codebreakers, wiretappers, airplane graveyards and other postmodern metaphors. Shot around the duo’s Arizona base, it’s a poetic visual for a sinister narrative, broken up only by Burns and Convertino’s plaid shirts. Because dead men don’t wear plaid. Living men do. MORE @ WIRED

Watch: Calexico’s “Two Silver Trees”

SEE ALSO:
An Interview with Calexico
“I kept thinking of someone’s personal struggle within the confines of their society, such as the judicial system. However that comes into being, whether it’s through some mistakes in the past or of someone trying to break out of the past. And knowing that there is this darkness and foreboding negativity. But, depending upon where you are influenced by this or how it comes to be, you have to at some point come face to face with it and then you can figure out a way to move forward. Survival or escape.” MORE @ MORPHIZM