But that isn’t really the case with Algiers – the sound of the album might allow some Afro-Cuban influences to creep in, but for the most part, it’s still the same “desert noir” genre that they’ve been working with for most of their existence. One might expect this change of venue to come with a bit of stylistic experimentation, perhaps a fair amount of collaboration with local musicians who embody the sound of New Orleans. On their latest album, Algiers, the Tucson-based band felt that they needed a change, so they uprooted themselves and set up shop in a church converted into a studio, in a neighborhood of New Orleans that they ended up naming the album after. And yet, when a strong Spanish guitar riff or a piercing horn section or a surprisingly menacing bridge emerges from a song that didn’t seem like much at first, I’m reminded of why I stick around and continue to give this band a chance. Listening to an album of theirs when I’m not in the right headspace for it can quite literally put me to sleep. Many of their songs have layers of depth and beauty that aren’t always apparent on the surface – indeed, very few of their songs tend to catch my attention on first listen.

There’s a pervasive subtlety to their slightly jazzy, strongly Latin-influenced, and unmistakably Southwestern brand of indie folk. There are few bands who embody the term “sleeper hit” better than Calexico. I said, ‘I’m gonna croon this one,’ so croon I did.In Brief: Like an exotic city with an inherent distrust of foreigners, Algiers takes its time to let you in, but it’s an enchanting place once you get to know it. I like to try different things, and I got to be a character a little bit inside the song. There are echoes of each of them in there. On that song, I remember when I started singing it, I was imagining Roy Orbison, Elvis Presley, Eric Carmen-those were the three lines that popped into my head. I’ve also been singing for a long time now, and I’ve learned some tricks along the way. “I stopped smoking five years ago,” he explained in an Entertainment Weekly interview, “and my voice is able to do things it wasn’t able to do when I was a smoker. Beginning with a familiar “Be My Baby” beat, “Algiers” segues right into a heart-sinking ballad, complete with a gentle guitar strum, a steady-handed rhythm section and Dulli’s subtle vocal shifts. The day all you Gen X’ers have been waiting for is finally here-the day Greg Dulli leads his old band The Afghan Whigs in their first proper single since the Clinton years.

Algiers lyricsx