Calexico Creates Cool, Intense Soundscapes

Rattling, pulsating and glowing faintly in the dim El Rey Theatre light, the Tucson-based group Calexico played the music of no man’s land on Wednesday, evoking the seductive beauty of the Southwestern desert, along with its attendant natural and human dangers.

The band’s core duo, singer-guitarist Joey Burns and drummer John Convertino, has a varied musical history, including membership in trippy country alt-rock group Giant Sand and lounge-revival act Friends of Dean Martinez. Calexico reflected the slightly loopy, slightly grandiose spirits of both, and then some.

Abetted by four musicians playing acoustic and electric guitars, vibes, pedal-steel, trumpets and upright bass, the pair crafted cool, Ennio Morricone-esque soundscapes and percussive, jazz-flavored rock.

Most striking were the cinematic instrumentals, some lonesome and shimmering, others more driving, with bright mariachi horn touches that sparkled enticingly. A couple of songs recalled the elastic mournfulness of Neil Young (or Giant Sand), save for Burns’ lower-pitched vocals.

The different colors and tightly controlled jamming made the experience both intense and pleasant, though not absolutely riveting. Most admirably, the specific imagery Calexico’s music created still left listeners plenty of room to wander their own internal landscapes.