Alt.country bands may be all the rage at the moment, but it has to be admitted that few of them are ever likely to trouble the chartsettters very much. A notable exception is Calexico, the Arizona duo whose blend of Ennio Morricone-like soundscapes and Mexican folk music has won them a massive European fanbase since they left their old outfit Giant Sand in 1996. Feast of Wire is another fine showcase for their idiosyncratic talents, a tequila-flavoured treat that conjures up images of siestas, handlebar moustaches and dusty bandits. If this sounds cartoonish, it shouldn't - behind the sun-soaked melodies, the songs frequently deal with such thorny issues as poverty-stricken children and cross-border police. And any album which contains a lyric about a man driving off a cliff as he listens to Fleetwood Mac can hardly be dismissed as lightweight. Original, tuneful and highly entertaining, Feast of Wire should certainly keep Calexico well ahead of the posse.
