Calexico - 'Quattro' (City Slang)
4/5
By: Austin Louis Ray
As the namesake track of Calexico's 'Quattro' single begins, the familiar drumbeat might lead to confusion.
'Wait... Isn't this... N.E.R.D.?'
Though it's true the first five seconds of the radio-edit version of 'Quattro' are quite reminiscent of 'Baby Doll' by Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo's influential collective, the rest of the song makes any thoughts of those similarities quickly disappear.
In what could be a track about kidnapping, 'Quattro' goes on to combine lightly strummed guitars, sincere vocals and rare-but-poignant horns at all the right moments to create a moving piece.
'Can't tell what's right/Better hit the ground,' vocalist Joey Burns quivers out, before the brass makes its dramatic entrance.
'Praskovia' switches things up drastically and without the aid of vocals; from the sounds of the piece, one wouldn't be able to decipher Calexico as a musical collective based out of Tuscon, Arizona. Rather, as the perky accordions stomp along with the bounce of the tuba's bass-notes, it's easy to daydream of romantic couples waltzing to the music on the streets of Spain.
Yet, not ones for staying with a single idea too long, the duo's second and final b-side on the release is the melancholy, also instrumental 'Pampa'. The track is comprised of just over three minutes of spare plucking of what sounds like a banjo and a guitar, each instrument uttering a strained bit of sound, back and forth, almost in musical argument... It's as if the two inanimate objects are going through a break-up and neither have the energy to fight about it anymore.
At release's end, the listener is left torn. Roughly nine minutes ago, it seemed like N.E.R.D. had invaded a CD-player in what was surely an attempt by Williams and Hugo to get their names on yet another song. Yet, about six minutes ago, the scenery had changed and suddenly European culture had flourished. And then, just three minutes ago, sadness enveloped those ears that had already taken more of a trip than any normal audio-receptors should have to undergo, and further confused things. The listener is befuddled; this is certain. But for some reason, the listener wants more.
Artists in this article: Calexico
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