Calexico Announce New Album The Thread That Keeps Us, Out January 26, 2018
Tucson, Arizona’s venerable rock band Calexico announced today the release of their newest album The Thread That Keeps Us, out January 26th via Anti- Records.
Their ninth studio album is the followup to 2015’s critically acclaimed Edge of Sun. Working with their longtime engineer Craig Schumacher, Calexico co-produced The Thread That Keeps Us, gathering musicians from across the globe to dream up an earthy yet expansive sound spiked with jagged guitar tones and flashes of distortion. Pre-order the album HERE: https://calexico.lnk.to/TheThreadThatKeepsUsWe
The album mostly came to life in a house studio near the Northern California coast. Known as the Panoramic House but nicknamed “Phantom Ship” by Calexico vocalist/guitarist Joey Burns and drummer John Convertino, the sprawling Stinson Beach home was built partly from shipyard-salvaged timber and cobblestones unearthed from the streets of San Francisco.
The drama of that landscape directly influenced the lead single and opening track to The Thread That Keeps Us. Driven by sing-song melody and galloping rhythms, “End of the World With You” finds an unlikely romanticism in volatile times. With its lyrics illuminating “love in the age of the extremes,” the track feels equally joyful and grim: the perfect intro to an album that endlessly explores the contrast between bright and dark, hope and fear.
Watch the “End of the World With You” lyric video HERE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TU1lFU__2fI
Like “End of the World with You,” much of The Thread That Keeps Us captures the anxieties and unease of living in tumultuous times. But while the album draws a kinetic energy from all that uncertainty, its lyrics unfold with a literary nuance and sense of setting and character.
On the making of the album, co-founder Joey Burns says, “There’s a little more chaos and noise in the mix than what we’ve done in the past,” Burns points out. Although that chaos has much to do with “where we’re at right now as a planet,” it also echoes Calexico’s dedication to constant experimentation. “Whenever we’re writing and we come up with something that feels too familiar, someone will end up saying, ‘That feels good, but let’s keep going and see what else we can uncover,’” Burns says. “It’s been really important to the arc of this band’s evolution for us to always keep on trying new things.”
CALEXICO ARE: Joey Burns, John Convertino, Martin Wenk, Jacob Valenzuela, Sergio Mendoza, Jairo Zavala Ruiz, and Scott Colberg.
The Thread That Keeps Us Tracklisting:
01. End of the World with You
02. Voices in the Field
03. Bridge to Nowhere
04. Spinball
05. Under the Wheels
06. The Town & Miss Lorraine
07. Flores y Tamales
08. Another Space
09. Unconditional Waltz
10. Girl in the Forest
11. Eyes Wide Awake
12. Dead in the Water
13. Shortboard
14. Thrown to the Wild
15. Music Box
Calexico is planning an extensive tour in 2018. Check http://www.casadecalexico.com for updates.
Calexico Tour Dates
October 20th - Phoenix, AZ - Lost Lake Festival
Edge of The Sun quotes:
"It's too early to tag Edge Of The Sun as the band's masterpiece, but song for song, it's the most textured and dimensional Calexico record" -- NPR
"As restless as ever, the band is pushing at expectations, exploring without repeating. The result is as engaging and sophisticated as anything in their rich catalog." -- LA Times
"Edge of the Sun sounds newly invigorated and inspired as Calexico reconsider their own past and find new music to explore." -- Pitchfork
"At its best, the music on "Edge of the Sun" is retro, modern and timeless." -- Associated Press
"Calexico sounds best when it does what it's always done: Tell stories, translate the American Southwest into song, and have a damn good time doing it. And these are the best bits of Edge Of The Sun." -- The AV Club
"Recording in Mexico City, they've turned nearly every track here into a collaboration, jumping from Dylan-esque country to cumbia to spaghetti-Western to mariachi to ska, and by the time they've finished, they've managed to write one of the hookiest, most-satisfying albums of their career."
-- Magnet
"...the Arizona ensemble has swerved through freewheeling detours into indie rock, Tex-Mex, and Americana, with flourishes of jazz, soul, and country along the way. "Edge of the Sun," the band's new album on Anti-, is no less adventurous, but it feels curated in a way that sets it apart from previous releases." -- Boston Globe
"Building a cohesive album from such eclectic source material is no easy task, but Calexico, drawing on the 25-year partnership between Burns and multi-instrumentalist John Convertino, put on a clinic."
-- Consequence of Sound
For more information, contact:
Dana Erickson & Kate Jackson DanaE@grandstandhq.com / KateJ@grandstandhq.com