Thursday, June 22, 2006
The band's latest album, 'Garden of Ruin,' throws some curves.
By JOHN BENSON
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
Inherently, most bands that enjoy any amount of lasting success will eventually traverse musical styles that contradicted their beginnings.
At a time in the early '90s when grunge music was producing guitar-laden anthems of darkness, Green Day popped up with its power pop, punk-inspired sound. Over a decade later, the Bay area trio reached great heights with a concept album ("American Idiot") that included a nine-minute suite of guitar-laden moments detailing socio-political themes.
The same can be said about Pink Floyd, whose early on "Dark Side of the Moon" indulgence eventually was tempered into the tight precision heard on "The Wall."
This brings us to indie rock band Calexico, which has spent the last decade creating experimental and nonlinear music for its cultlike underground following. So you can imagine the reaction of the overzealous when the band -- basically visionaries Joey Burns and John Convertino -- released its fifth and most accessible studio album, "Garden of Ruin," to date.
"I think initially they were a little confused, which is good," said Burns, calling from Santa Cruz, N.M. "It's good to have some curves here and there. Some surprises. In Europe, where we toured first, I think they were a little more nervous about the new album and tour. But once they saw the combination of old and new songs, I think in general the live shows tend to open up the material and the audience seems to enjoy that."
What's different
Still, there is a noticeable accessibility heard on "Garden Ruin" that is undeniably different from anything Calexico has attempted in the past. From the popish "Lucky Dime" to the beguiling "Roka," the band is unequivocally expanding its mariachi-friendly past. It's anything but a calculated move toward commerciality. No matter how you want to characterize the change, Burns said he can look himself in the mirror every morning, which is ultimately his litmus test of credibility.
More importantly, he feels within today's indie music world, there's never been a better time for such creativity -- without boundaries and expectations.
"That's right; I think there is a concern to make sure the quality is focused on the music and at the same time, I think there are a lot more opportunities for independent music to reach wider audiences without having to be signed to a major record label," Burns said. "That's very exciting. Whether it's Myspace or Pitchfork or just word of mouth, it's much more a part of the whole process."
Fans attending the band's upcoming Saturday date at Pittsburgh's Rex Theatre should expect a career-spanning set list with the band unabashedly reworking its material, including the extension of new track "Lucky Dime." There's also talk of perhaps bringing opener Jason Collett on stage for some improvisational fun.
"He's part of Broken Social Scene, and we're looking forward to hanging out," Burns said. "Who knows, we'll probably wind up collaborating with each other at the end of the night. It's the kind of touring I'm looking forward to it. It's fun."