Starting off as if extending its greatest song, Minas de Cobre, Calexico resumes its southern-U.S., northern-Mexican flavour which is akin to a cabeza burrito.

That is, spicy, rich and fattening. Later it turns haunting and painful.

Well, so much for avoiding toilet humour in this issue.

If you don't know already, Calexico is half of Giant Sand (Joey Burns and John Convertino), plus a bunch of horn players.

Their claim to jazzy Spanish music would be dubious but for the fact that they're so unquestionably right doing it, concise minstrels dead set on spooking you out like the end of a horrifying Cormac McCarthy novel - say, Blood Meridian or Cities of the Plain.

Those are chilling stories both, as are the half-implied tales of blood and betrayal found on this latest Calexico record.

Take Ballad of Cable Hogue. A duet, partially in an awkward French but fully a frontier tale of womanly betrayal, its lyrics are more Marty Robbins than Ty Whoever, a rodeo dance music product made manifest.

This is a pulsing album, not unlike the rises and valleys of Charlie Brown's shirt, whereas The Black Light previously, possibly just a slightly better record, whispered its way into just one or two climaxes.

This makes Hot Rail more accessible, ultimately, though less mythical, although the track by the same name is tremendously evocative of that cold, breezy calm following a pounding storm.

The narrative skips from place to place, and there's a sleepy jazz or pure accordion number for every, well, hit.

Sonic Wind is such a riser, as is the cataclysmic Drenched.

Joey Burns has a familiar voice and its tonal heights this time make him seem more vulnerable, less disaffected, than in the last century. Which works well enough.

Nothing is missing here and plenty of new territory is grappled, remarkable given how long these guys have been at it.

Howe Gelb's shadow still lingers in the corner, but mostly as an observer, like a photograph that turns up in the liner notes.

Yes, it took a few more listens to fall in love with, but this is good stuff.

Is that a surprise?

Track Listing 1.El Picador
  02.Ballad Of Cable Nogue
  03.Ritual Road Map
  04.Fade
  05.Untitled III
  06.Sonic Wind
  07.Muleta
  08.Mid-Town
  09.Service And Repair
  10.Untitled II
  11.Drenched
  12.16 Track Scratch
  13.Tres Avisos
  14.Hot Rail