As an in-demand rhythm section, the Calexico nucleus of multi-instrumentalist Joey Burns and percussionist John Convertino has played with an extensive list of cult darlings, from Giant Sand (who remain something of a steady gig for the duo) to Richard Buckner to Neko Case to Victoria Williams. And as complementary as they can be as sidemen for such idiosyncratic artists, Calexico have always been at their best on their own.

Feast of Wire is their finest effort since 1998’s The Black Light. The duo’s sound — a mostly instrumental melange derived from Mexican folk influences, dry and dusty desert atmospherics, and understated spaghetti-western orchestrations — hasn’t changed over time so much as it’s evolved. Where a horn section might once have served to add a little mariachi flavor, here Calexico broaden their palette to borrow from John Barry’s James Bond film scores. The prominence of synthesizers and horn sections allows the duo to dip into ’50s jazz stylings on "Crumble." And on "The Black Heart," they use a string section to underscore the shadowy, sinister, mournful tone of the song’s existential tale. They meander farthest afield on "The Book and the Canal," a skeletal piano-and-violin instrumental, and on the Spanish-tinged "Attack El Robot! Attack!" Burns and Convertino could easily have just stayed the course on Feast of Wire, relying on studio gigs to play the rent. Instead, the disc turns out to be one of their most adventurous albums yet.