Calexico‘s ninth studio album The Thread That Keeps Us is Joey Burns and John Convertino’s efficacy at capturing “the room sound…what’s living and breathing in the room.” Each song is a story in one way or another about displacement, specifically concerning immigration. Not historically known for being so explicitly political, it seems even Burns and Convertino seem to have their limits, but instead of making the TTTKU an album’s worth of soapbox lectures, the two have painted their stories of border issues, etc. organically into their indie-folk soundscape, adding a new, more pensive texture to their storytelling canvas. Even their songs that don’t have any political implication are laced in a dark tone. “The Town and Miss Lorraine” is one of the more sonically upbeat tunes on the album, but within its brief lyrics lies a story of tragedy. This live version strips away many of the album version’s instrumentation, allowing the lyrics to take center stage. Check out the entire Studio 1A session here.
“The Town and Miss Lorraine” appears on The Thread That Keeps Us, out now via Anti Records.
-Taylor Wallace // Host, Thursdays 8p-11p & Saturdays 2p-6p; Producer, Eklektikos with John Aielli
