What hath Arizona wrought

The idea of combing the soothing vocals of Iron & Wine's Sam Beam, with the smooth, Western-influenced sounds of Calexico is not something I would have predicted, however, after listening to the seven track EP, In The Reins, featuring these musicians in their prime, I was left wanting more. I first heard about Calexico through my cousin who, being from Arizona, found out about the Tucson based group through the band's extensive southwestern following. The group of musicians, most of which were classically-trained, creates a style of music that cannot truly be defined in a traditional sense. Some might categorize them as country rock, or as jazz musicians; others might claim that Calexico's roots come from old Western film music, taking their cues from composers like Ennio Morricone. In many ways Calexico embodies all of this, and more.\nIron & Wine, best known to the public as that band "Garden State" director Zach Braff likes, seems to best fit in the folk music scene. Beam's music on its own is good, but can at times come across too much like easy-listening for the background. Beam is one of those singers who has a haunting and soothing voice that, combined with the cool rhythms of Calexico's band, creates the perfect blend.\nIn The Reins was a project that both groups had been toying with for sometime, according to the bands' Web sites, but it didn't actually get launched until 2004, probably due to Iron & Wine's new popularity. The original collaboration would have been for Beam's debut Iron & Wine album, but was ultimately put on hold. \nThe EP features seven wonderful songs, the best being the opening ("He Lays In Reins") and closing ("Dead Man's Will") tracks, all written by Beam with Calexico taking on the music. There are a couple guest musicians, including Calexico's lead singer and a wonderful Spanish vocal solo on the opening track by flamenco/opera singer Salvador Duran. \nWhile both groups will no doubt continue releasing their own records, it would be nice to see another album by these two. Calexico is a band that deserves some more attention (check out the other albums and see for yourself) and Iron & Wine is already in the spotlight. In the Reins' only flaw is that it is an EP, thus only giving us a small taste of the possibilities this collaboration has to offer. As a whole, Calexico and Iron & Wine play off each other in a beautiful way rarely seen in music today.