In the Reins (Pseudo Music Review)

If two negatives make a positive, then two positives should make an even bigger positive... right? Sadly, the rules of mathematics and grammar seldom apply when it comes to pop culture.

Take Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan, for example: by far two of my favorite musicians. When, several months ago, Washington found some bootleg recordings of the two singing together, I was pretty excited to hear the result. Imagine my surprise when — much like my entire face puckers uncontrollably whenever I taste something a little too bitter — my eyebrows shriveled inwards and up. While I appreciated that I was able to hear the two of them singing together, the impromptu nature of the duet left a lot to be desired. Whenever one was singing, the other would pop in out of key. The end result was a cacophony of sorts.

I was, suffice it to say, mildly disappointed.

But on that same website (his hometown newspaper, I believe) Washington also stumbled upon another collaboration that was bound to pique my interest: Iron & Wine and Calexico's "Sixteen, Maybe Less."

I was hooked within the first few chords. It had the light Indie sound typical of Iron & Wine, with a tinge of rockabilly (which I assume was Calexico's contribution).

And, no, I'm not calling Calexico rockabilly. Truth is, I've never been sure how to describe this Tucson band's style. The instrumentation is eclectic and — from what I've read of them — they were inspired by everything from the sounds of the Southwest, 50's jazz and country (among others). They certainly concentrate more on sound than words, with many of their tunes lacking the latter altogether.

They, like Iron & Wine, perhaps fall under the umbrella of "Alternative," though Iron & Wine is certainly of a much more mellow, Indie vein. Iron & Wine (essentially one man, Sam Bean) is one of those groups whose lyrics are almost always discernible over the light plucking of a guitar. As a writer, I always appreciate a song that establishes a mood not only through its sound, but with its words. And I generally get that with Iron & Wine.

So when I heard a few months back that Calexico was touring with Iron & Wine, I was disappointed that I didn't get to catch the show. And, for whatever reason, it never occurred to me to see if — in addition to "Sixteen, Maybe Less" — there were other songs the two groups had collaborated on.

Turns out they recorded eight songs together, and released the set on the album In the Reins (2005).

I'm sorry to report that none of the songs top "Sixteen, Maybe Less" — both in sound and lyrics, that song remains the gem of the album. I enjoyed most others, but nowhere near as much. I even found the title song, "He Lays in the Reins" to be outright annoying. Sounds more typical of Iron & Wine are interrupted midway through the song with a brief Spanish operetta. While I'm sure there's school of listeners out there who thoroughly enjoyed this diversion, I couldn't get in to it.

[Or, to quote Washington, "What the hell is this?"]

In short, if you're interested in either band, I'd recommend you listen to each separately before you purchase (or legally download) In the Reins. It's not bad. It's interesting. But, with the exception of "Sixteen," I have a slight preference for listening to each band independently.