Feast of Wire

Somewhere between Wilco, a Mariachi Band, and a soundtrack to a western. I. Was. Here. For. It.

Bluesy, folksy, country, latin infused indie rock. This shit rocks. Its just exactly what i needed. Its not a 5 as in its perfect but its a 5 as in where has this been all my life

Calexico always made me wonder why there wasn't more mariachi-infused indie rock. But then if that were a subgenre, none of the other bands would have been as great as Calexico.

Now THIS is why I signed up for this. Music I've never heard from a band I was only vaguely aware of, and I'm absolutely loving it.

This album is a very consistent and engaging mix of indie rock, mariachi, jazz, alt county, and just about everything else. The guitar work in particular stood out to me, especially the jazz guitar in the penultimate track. The album feels spacious and has enough room to let melodies linger and for musical ideas to slowly and fully develop. This music truly inhabits the feel of the southwest in a way that captures the expansiveness and occasional tumultuousness of that region.

Wow this is fun and unique! I think my lips began to chap halfway through this album from the desert heat. I love the vivid landscapes this album paints in my mind. I love it!

I love the mood this album sets, like an indie mariachi road trip.

This is really good. I'd not even heard of the band and expected to dislike but the variety and catchiness of the songs are undeniable. I found myself playing this through 3 times. There are a number of styles here but it's assured and professional. Impressive.

What is this? Post-alt-country!? It's wonderful, I love it! 😻 I'm a huge fan of albums that go out of their way to be cinematic, or dabble with multiple genres, and this album does both of those things well. I haven't really listened to Calexico before so this is a great discovery for me - that's what this project is all about! Fave track - "Black Heart" - those strings are positively trip-hop! "Close Behind" sounds like a spaghetti western soundtrack, "The Book and the Canal" sounds like a revisionist western soundtrack, "Attack el Robot! Attack" sounds like Tom Waits, and let's say "Corona" for that mariachi feel....

Goddam, I love this album. Bought it the day it came out after a rave Guardian review, then moved to Tucson 2 weeks later (Hume might object to the structure of that sentence). What an incredible, atmospheric soundtrack to a pivotal time in my life. Even used to eat at El Guero Canelo on occasion! Their best individual album by far, so dramatic and tuneful, vocal and instumental alike. Mariachi-indie rules.

Calexico was a group I was only slightly familiar with and was not expecting what I ended up hearing. I really enjoyed how varied this is and was struck by how well written and recorded each song was with each track offering something special. I was also surprised by the amount of instrumentals ranging from really fun to really weird. I wouldn't mind going back to their previous albums to capture a bigger picture of this one.

Me listening to Feast of Wire for the 5th time in a row: "God damn that is good. Shit, that's fresh." But in all seriousness, hadn't listened to this in many years and I'd forgotten how freaking good it is. Glad it made it onto the list too, most of the stuff I was obsessed with in 2005 did not lol. It has "filler", but even those are hella good tbh. A jewel of the 00s, straight back into the rotation. 5/5

Brilliant.

8/10 dang that was so cool and creative! super neat!

Nice surprise. Very diverse and has some original sounds.

Interesting album to say the least. A much different take on indie rock, with country, Tejano, and jazz thrown in. It definitely SOUNDS southwestern and desert-y, which makes sense considering that this group was apparently formed in Tuscon, Arizona. There seems to be an even mix of vocal and instrumental tunes as well, really bringing the spotlight to this interesting fusion of western genres. Just shy of a 3.5/5 for creativity, as there weren't really any specific tracks that I was pining to go back and listen to, but the body of work was certainly interesting.

Wow what an interesting album this was. Had a bit of everything! Felt like an indie rock band with a lot of mariachi flavour mixed in. Wikipedia has it listed under the genre "Tex-mex" and yeah, couldn't put it better myself. A bit of folk and country, a bit of mariachi, a bit of jazz - A highly interesting album. Some of the songs here were a little too slow for me to really get into, but I liked this album a lot regardless. Favourite: Quattro - World Drifts In

Highly surprised by this. Loved the Latino feel to it. Super interesting and unique!

Never heard of them before. Will really enjoy listening to this multiple times I think, was just a very pleasant experience!

Never heard of Calexico before and was very impressed by this. Lots of fun, a great blend of genres that kept things interesting without seeming too scattered, and a well-paced mix of songs and instrumentals. Will definitely be revisiting this and checking out some of their other records. I feel like after a couple of listens this would probably drop to a 4 but just from a first impression I’m going high

Outstanding! Eclectic mix of great songs. I am quite well-taken with this one.

Well, okay, that was pretty great.

Really didn't know what to expect but enjoyed this a lot. Kind of a west coast Iron and Wine with some Latin flair in the instrumentation. Would absolutely put this on again and hope to see more from these guys.

First track had me thinking, another dang country album, which really didn't fit the cover art. As the tracks progressed I was hooked. What is this album? I had no idea Indy rock Mariachi was a thing. I listened thrice and told a few people about the discovery. By my well defined scoring system, that's a five. Great find.

An unexpected treat. I was unfamiliar with Calexico and went into the album pretty blind. What a delight it turned out to be! The mariachi infused indie/jazz/folk offerings here are splendid. I found myself listening to not only this, but a whole number of Calexico albums as I got lost in their pretty unique sound. This album was awesome and has turned me onto a band that I apparently really love.

Went into this blind, and wasn’t too sold on seeing the album art. Boy, was I wrong. I loved the sad, solemn feel; western noir was a good way of putting it. Really wish I would have found this band when I was going through my angsty indie teens. Reminds me a lot of Bright Eyes, Neutral Milk Hotel, etc. Very cool lesson about not judging a book by its cover.

I enjoyed this album enough to listen to it all afternoon! I’d describe it as breezy, sometimes haunting, sometimes sexy, sometimes sweeping, and sometimes… mariachi? It made for an interesting listen by mixing indie rock with such a Latin flavor, and, well… I LOVED it.

Maybe it’s the horns or maybe it’s the damaged woman on the cover I want to make my wife but I loved this album

Really enjoyed this one. Some mariachi, county and folk influences. Indie folk was in a good place here, before it evolved into the stomp clap of 2010s. Enjoyed the mixing, the horns are great. It hits the spot and changes itself up so it never really gets boring. Strong album through and through. Favourite song is maybe "Quattro" but many are good.

I had never heard of this album before this, and while the vocals were just really standard early 2000’s indie vocals, the album absolutely nailed it in the instrumentals.

This was on the border between a 3 and 4. I hadn't listened to them, but I enjoyed. I don't know how often I would return to this one.

Initially a quite interesting album, but it felt like it diverged a bit from its own formula after a while and got a bit too incoherent for my taste. Don’t remember any particularly song that stood out, though most were decent, mixed with a handful ones as well that didn’t work for me.

fajne

OMG thank you for reminding me of how awesome Calexico are.

Awesome

Un impresionante álbum que combina lo mejor del country y la música mexicana; en una fusión impresionante de estilos que funciona como reloj de precisión atómica. Increíble, una verdadera experiencia sonora.

Sonzao bem interessante, ambientação orquestral e atmosfera

Not sure why but I enjoyed the music today

Warm, lush

Very good album. A hidden gem for sure. Very eclectic

Amazing.

Well that was suprising. Well done and a great listen.

Surprisingly good country music

I had no idea what to expect, but I ended up really enjoying this. No funny review this time because I listened while working and haven't any deep thoughts.

Favorite Tracks: Sunken Waltz Quattro - Worlds Drift In Attack El Robot! Attack!

Serene indie folk rock with heavy acoustic guitar and sometimes Mexican classic guitar riffs. The songs that did have singing, complemented the tasteful instrumentals. A unique album that showed a great amount of range stretching from genre to genre. 9/10

Very unique blend of genres! I hear some western, trip hop, mariachi, pop and country. Great crafted songs and the singer is very good! Standouts: Quattro (World Drifts In), Black Heart, Woven Birds, Attack! El Robot! Attack!, Across The Wire, Alone Again Or, No Doze 8,5 out of 10

Loved this album! Listened twice and looking forward to listening again! Loved the fusion of sound and the overall mood of the album!

Great album

The album is really varied in its music type, it was really nice

Innovative easy listening.

Absolutely wonderful

Ugh I love aughts indie so much! I somehow never listened to these guys but they're fantastic. I really enjoy when indie bands infuse a bit of alt-country into their sound like this. I will definitely have to listen to them more.

What the fuck did I just listen to? That was unexpectedly really good. The album cover does not do it justice.

Saw them perform the anniversary tour last year. Slam dunk.

Wow....this is exactly why I started this journey. The genre blending and instrumentation are very interesting and refreshing. Excellent album all the way through.

A beautiful and sumptuous album that follows many musical threads and weaves them together masterfully. Areas rarely explored in Indie popular music. It feels cinematic and gritty at times. I can’t think of many other albums like it.

It's been a while since I gave a 5 and I really like this music. Not going to look up why the bands name and cover is terrible just going to be in a good mood today.

arvoisa neitos ruovas ja herraväki... näin tehdään albumi..

This is exactly what I signed up for. A band that I've never heard of, with album art that I wouldn't look at twice, yet it's an amazing listen. I'm not even sure how to describe this - western indie folk? The songs are given space to breathe and grow. It's atmospheric and even cinematic. You can't help envisioning scenarios while listening. I love this.

Really cool and cinematic and western-y

Cool fucking jazz with some latin

This album really surprised me. Judging the cover alone, this is an album I'd pass on 10 out of 10 times. I expected either a female singer or something more latino, if not both. What I got was something that blends of many bands I like such as Death Cab, Flaming Lips, and Beck. Where the postal service went more electronic in 2003, here was this band pulling out cellos, accordians, and an array of other horns. Had I known about this band back 20 years ago I think this would have been right up there with Give Up for my tops. The volume of tracks and variety also make this album special. It's a mix tape of so many different styles, going from a dramatic bond-theme type song, to Mexican, and instrumentals, and then some alternative/indie tracks and more. All are solid tracks and may not be the best individually, but this is an album that is made better because of the collection of tracks here. Favorite track "Black Heart" 5/5

Laid back rock from the high desert, Calexico has a ecclectic relation to genre, incorporating accordian waltzes, mariachi choruses, atmospheric post-rock psychadelia, jazz drumming and horns, emo melodies, dub melodica, trip hop ambience, some cumbia rhythms, folksy alt-country acoustic and high-lonesome slide guitars to create a sound that encapsulates the borderlands. It coheres perflectly into a spacious cinematic album that winds its way slowly around, settling into the songs gently, quickening the pulse with new instrumental layers, and calming back down with its whispered lullaby vocals. Without being a concept album, it takes you on a journey, like driving through the sprawling outskirts of South Western city, cruising through the strip malls feeling a saturday afternoon evolve into saturday night evolve, catching snippets of what's playing out the car windows, the weddings and bbqs and parties, the bars filling up and spilling out - there's a bit of filler in the in-between moments, but they're taking you to the next place.

9/10

A brilliant, brilliant album. I am sad to say I had never heard of this album or even the band Calexico before, but I've seen and heard of them now. And I can't wait to hear more from them. Music like this can only be made by a group from the American southwest, and sure enough Calexico took their name from a town on the Mexican-American border. Just listening to these songs can transport you to the desert. I can almost hear the crinkle of cowboy boots against sand. My mind continuously conjured images of tumbleweed rolling across a vast landscape. That vastness contains a unique solitude which in my view can also be found in the music. Clearly, this record was heavily influenced by Mexican artists, which greatly enhances the music. The album is consistent, both in content and quality, but never feels repetitive. It is difficult to isolate any particular highlights or lowlights because there really aren't dips in quality. Overall, this is probably my favorite album I've heard so far from this list.

Great album.

Increíbles instrumentales

Mexican waltz-influenced desert blues rock reaches American singer songwriter pop stylings to brilliant effect. I love this album. Has one of my all time favorite songs, Across the Wire. Mixing musical borders infuses the sound along with the physical border. Calexico uncovers the riches to be found there.

viel besser als ich dachte!

I like this band a lot! Love the gentle fusion and the instrumentation blend with experimental. Wish I'd thought of it.

Pues me ha encantau.

An unexpected treat!

I LIKE this! Pepita is where it really grabbed me attention after listening off and on and letting myself get distracted and whatnot. I would like to listen more intentionally. Especially after the transition from Pepita into the next track.. And the"heart full of hornets" line.

Zydeco, bluesy, folksy, with a dash of Ennio Morricone thrown in for good measure. I loved the hell out of this album.

This is what I’m here for. A band I’ve never heard of with an album that’s so easy to spin over and over again. I’ll grab a Sonora dog next time I listen to this one

Good album that I liked

4.5/5

This is a great find. I have a new artist to follow!

Really fantastic, unique indie album. Great acoustic tracks too.

Allow me to jump on the metaphorical BANDWAGON here, and agree this is exactly why I came to this list - to discover and hopefully enjoy NEW music and unexplored styles. and sure, also be reminded the music I love but forgot to listen to because the CD case isn't sitting in front of me .... I read a few other reviews is which helped me grasp this is a mix of Mariachi (?) and post something. Ok. But I still like it for what it is. Interesting interstitial atmospheric - and it's music: I would paint to or write to... Feast on

Magnificent.

Pues me ha encantau.

Good album! International world sound with roots rough voice. Heard of this band but never really explored, glad I did!

Newest fan right here

Love this album, love its predecessor a tiny bit more. Still... As the predecessor isn't on this list, this gets the 5/5 from me that Hot Rail should get. Not to belittle this one at, all, it's a very solid 4.5 in any case for me. Both are outstanding albums that whenever I listen to them make me wonder why there isn't more music out there in a similar style.

Enjoyed this, something a bit different than normal.

I loved this.

This is such a funky album so far. I really love it. I feel like most of the albums that have been generated for me recently have songs that all sound the same, but this is not the case with this album so far. 10 songs in. 5/5! That doesn't happen too often.

I think I've heard of this band but never listened to them. That was a mistake on my part. I really enjoyed this album. The horns, the Latin influences, all of it. I spent most of the day listening to this and a lot of their other catalog. The generator gave me a solid today.

Really good and chill

Pues me ha encantau.

Pues me ha encantau.

After three consecutive days of terrible albums, my hopes were not high for something I'd never heard of by a band I didn't know. But this is so good. Other reviews have come close enough to describing the excellent range and quality of music, and I'm giving it 5 stars so I don't forget to come back to it down the road. It'd a 4.5 anyway.

Großartig :-) Typischer Calexico-Sound, direkt beim ersten hören nimmt mich die Stimmung mit. 5/5

Very nice surprise to see this album on the list: it's gorgeous.

I was surprised by how much I liked this. Latin jazz-folk fusion with an indie inflection. Had some really nice moments. Particularly enjoyed Pepita and Close Behind

A mariachi infused American indie record. When it's good, it's great, but a few too many grout tracks and it tails off at the end. If it ended at track 11, Across the Wire, it would have been a 5/5. Rating: 4/5 Playlist track: Across the Wire Date listened: 18/03/23

Slightly uneven start but ends up being an incredible record overall. Loved it. 4.5 stars

Such an interesting blend of different styles. Latin, rock, power pop and a little bit of hot jazz? Very cool, and will probably return to this record.