Anti-

On Algiers, their fantastic seventh full length, Americana indie outfit Calexico prove to be, as always, allergic to mediocrity. Algiers (recorded in a New Orleans church and named after that local neighborhood) isn’t the band’s most dynamic or immediately satisfying effort. They’ve stripped away some of the sonically pleasing sprawl of their recent albums, leaving a slightly monochromatic feel throughout – both sleepy ballads and full-throttle anthems are propelled by acoustic guitars, double-bass, brushed drums and their trademark mariachi horns. But Joey Burns and company remain masters of texture and emotion, wrangling every ounce of magic from the minimal, Shinsesque “Fortune Teller” and the dust-blown “Splitter,” which soars and revs like a lost Jackson Browne classic. And with the tense, whispery “Hush,” they’ve crafted arguably their most devastating song to date.