by JOHNSON CUMMINS

Calexico have always been as eclectic as they are prolific. Their largely song-based new record Garden Ruin, however, may prove to be the most challenging release for the section of their fan base that associates the band primarily with cinematic instrumentals and sun-baked Southwest sounds. For this year’s Jazz Fest, the band revisits their past by once again pairing with the Luz de Luna mariachi band, while trotting out the new material too. The Mirror talked to singer and multi-instrumentalist Joey Burns over the phone from his home in Tucson, Arizona.

Mirror: The new record seems to be a bit of a departure from your past few recordings. It seems a lot more streamlined in the approach to songwriting.

Joey Burns: It’s definitely more stripped down, but I don’t really think stripping everything down was intentional. We gravitated towards that approach in more of an intuitive and natural way. Usually, none of the songs are completed by the time we hit the studio, but even if some are finalized, we like to kind of keep them open so the arrangements will come together more naturally for us. We’ve had more success just making things up in the studio and going with what sounds good coming off the tape, and letting that influence our decisions.

M: Everyone from Howe Gelb from Giant Sand, who you’ve worked with many times, to the Meat Puppets has always said what an influence the Arizona desert has been on their sound. Do your surroundings influence you?

JB: Oh yeah, always. I think especially on this record. A big influence on this record was also leaving your surroundings. Changes occur when you leave, and I think the premise to a lot of the songs on the new record came from that perspective of leaving home, coming back and seeing changes happen. Be it global warming affecting the weather patterns at home, environmental pollution or the continuation of suburban sprawl, all of these things are going to affect your social conscience. When you’re travelling to other countries and you come home, it definitely gives you a new perspective on where you live.

M: It seems the current political climate has been a contributing factor to some of the new songs, especially “All Systems Red” and “Deep Down.”

JB: Being in a second term of George W. Bush is very frustrating. People are wondering why and how we are continuing to move down that path, and to me, it really doesn’t feel healthy. I don’t know how or why he got voted in again, but it makes you very suspicious, and there’s a lot of tension building and frustration happening for people right now. I think that sense of frustration does pop up in the songs that you mentioned, both lyrically and musically. For instance, “All Systems Red” starts off really sparse and acoustic, and slowly slips into distortion, and I think that says just as much as the lyrics do. I think there’s also a sense of hope on the record.

M: Calexico has always had a cinematic feel, be it your spaghetti-Western sounds, mariachi sounds or experimental songs. Have you ever considered scoring for the film medium?

JB: Yeah, I would love to do more soundtracks for films. We did a soundtrack for a film in 2000 called Committed, and that was really fun. There is a film called Down In the Valley that we’re in the running for doing the soundtrack for, and I would love to do it. We do occasionally place songs in films, but we would love to score specifically for a film again. It’s really challenging to watch what is happening on screen, listening to the dialogue and forming a musical connection.

At Metropolis on Sunday, July 9, 8 p.m., $34.50

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