*** Calexico

SPOKE

(Quarterstick)

The curriculum vitae of Joey Burns (bass) and John Convertino (drums) includes steady gigs with the venerable Giant Sand and Lisa Germano's fledgling OP8, and sessions as the rhythm section for Americana luminaries Vic Chesnutt, Victoria Williams, and the Friends of Dean Martinez. So it shouldn't come as any surprise to find their debut as Calexico (read California plus Mexico) wandering the dry, dusty Tex-Mex desert plains. The mood, however, is more upbeat than with Giant Sand, and where Friends of Dean Martinez favor laggardly lounge instrumentals, Spoke skips from wordless acoustic twang fests to cuts laced with Burns's sleepy vocals, stopping along the way for the heartfelt crooning of "Low Expectations" and the near-oompah, accordion-heavy "Mazurka." It's not exactly Ennio Morricone, but it sounds just fine on a bellyful of tequila.

-- Rob Flaggert

(Calexico join Richard Buckner this Tuesday, August 26, at T.T. the Bear's Place; call 492-BEAR.)