Why didn’t somebody think of this sooner? It’s not a fair question, but it’s an easy one to ask once you’ve heard the seven-track In the Reins, the first in what, if we’re all very lucky, will be a series of collaborations between Iron & Wine and Calexico.
Iron & Wine’s Beam and Calexico’s Joey Burns sound heavenly harmonizing with each other, especially when guest vocalist Natalie Wyants joins them. Neither is an exceptional vocalist on his own, both occasionally lapsing to a whisper, but those hushed, gently melodic cords singing in unison make magic. Beam is the principle songwriter and vocalist on the album, and he’s written some A material for the record, admirably putting his all into it instead of offering up some throwaway stuff and hoping Calexico can do something with it.
What ultimately ends up happening is Calexico’s sense of cinematic grandeur and eclecticism imbues Beam’s melodies and lyrics with an expansiveness that his humid Floridian folk doesn’t usually have. Shades of jazz and country creep in, and they even tackle straightahead California pop on “History of Lovers”. The only ingredients from Calexico’s usual recipe that are absent are dub and mariachi, but they employ their arsenal so sympathetically to Beam’s vision that an unschooled listener might never guess that this wasn’t a proper, working band.
Calexico are no strangers to backing other singers—Burns and drummer John Convertino began playing together as Howe Gelb’s rhythm section in Giant Sand, and they’ve contributed to dozens of LPs by other artists over the years. The core duo of Calexico brings along most of the collective of Southwestern musicians that enlivens their own albums—Paul Niehaus’s lap steel, in particular, helps to shape the sound of the album. “Prison on Route 41” and “16, Maybe Less” both traffic in hushed country’n’western tones, but are arranged in such a way that vocals give way to instrumental passages so smoothly that the solos don’t feel at all like showcases.
There isn’t a disappointing song on the EP (mini-album might actually be a better word for it), but it’s worth noting a couple of stand-outs. Opener “He Lays in the Reins” is a subtle waltz stuffed with flourishes of acoustic guitar and brushed drums that almost two minutes in introduces the operatic Spanish vocals of Salvador Duran, a complete leftfield move that proves as inspired on subsequent listens as it does jarring on the first listen. But the real highlight is also the biggest shock: “History of Lovers” is what Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours might have sounded like if it had been recorded in Memphis, complete with steel guitar trim and a great horn arrangement to go with some stunning harmonies and an unbelievable vocal melody.
Whether or not Iron & Wine and Calexico ever choose to follow this up with another collaboration (fingers crossed), it’s clear that both acts are stronger for having worked with the other. It’ll be interesting to see what comes next for Iron & Wine and Calexico and how this affects their work apart from each other. In the meantime, we can hope that this isn’t a one-time-only engagement.
