The back cover photo of
Spoke
is a furrowing farm machine, and in the context of this recording, one might imagine clouds of birds following the machinery to eat up the disturbed insects.
Calexico
snatch up the bits of
Americana
turned out by a rototilling of the national music psyche. The 19 resultant tracks can be small as insects (the shortest being half a minute in length) and erratic in flight; there are
lo-fi
songs and themes that proceed without concern for what came before. One bit is held up by guitar, another by accordion, then one by vibes. A bit of desert dust sprinkled throughout may be the only constant theme -- a Santa Fe rummage sale of sounds.
is very intriguing and well worth exploring. ~ Tom Schulte