Calexico's Carried To Dust, which follows 2006's Garden Ruin, is out in the fall. On it, Joey Burns and John Convertino are joined by Paul Niehaus (pedal steel), Volker Zander (bass) and multi-instrumentalists Martin Wenk and Jacob Valenzuela, along with guest spots by Sam Beam, Douglas McCombs, Pieta Brown, Spanish artists Amparo Sanchez and Jairo Zavala, and Willie Nelson band member Mickey Raphael, among others. I bring up the laundry list of characters because album track "Two Silver Trees" is a subtle, spare construction that feels as spacious as the landscape they often write about and not the work of a mini-orchestra. Speaking of landscapes, Burns's description of the idea behind the title Carried To Dust makes for intriguing listening while you listen.
