Calexico - Algiers

Calexico's first album in four years -- Algiers (September 11, ANTI-) -- finds Joey Burns and John Convertino transplanted in Louisiana and soaking up the rich New Orleans musical gumbo as they wrote new songs and collaborated with co-producer Craig Schumacher. Holed up in a converted church in the Crescent City neighborhood that gives the album its title, the duo found inspiration for the new songs in a place Burns, noting the area's Haitian, Cuban and African influences, calls "strong and bold, soulful to the core, but surrounded by a sea of darkness. There's something creepy and old on the edge of town and written throughout the town's histories." The blend of west coast folk and Mexi/Americana that spawned the band's name is both sure-footed and inspired throughout Algiers as the spaghetti-and-tamales western title track and "Puerto" mingle with chooglin' rocker "Splitter" and gorgeous, harmony-rich "Epic".

Calexico - "Splitter" (from Algiers)

Calexico - "Para" (from Algiers)