Calexico, Edge of the Sun (City Slang)
I was sad to miss the Old Fruitmarket gig by Calexico at the closer of Celtic Connections a couple of months back, and I am the more distraught having heard the quality of the new material. Very fine though its predecessor, 2012's Algiers, was, there is a great deal more focus about this 12-track set, and some of the band's catchiest tunes yet, such that this may be a more mainstream success.
We are used to broad expanses of Latin prairie sounds from Calexico, but Edge of the Sun starts with a fine three-minute pop song, Falling from the Sky, and ends with one of three or four pretty straight country numbers that could easily find their way into the repertoire of other artists. Sam Bean of Iron and Wine provides vocals on Bullets & Rocks, but the collaborators (who include Ben Birdwell of Band of Horses and Neko Case) take their place in the tight sound, with keyboard player Sergio Mendoza as important on the recordings as he reportedly was at the Glasgow gig. Our reviewer Keith Moore also pointed to the quality of the steel guitar-garnished When the Angels Play, and it is indeed a highlight here.
Keith Bruce
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article