Crooks have a new album coming out soon and its one I’m really looking forward to. Something about that tejano-influenced outlaw country sound is infectious. I think the thing that I like most about Crooks is that they take what could be a pretty cut and dried formula, Tex-Mex Country, and make it much more interesting.
Take “Fork In The Road” for instance, which is pretty deceptively simple upfront. Listen carefully and you’ll hear them play around with the structure of the song, mixing elements, bringing sounds in and out of the foreground. This is more than some simple cantina band at work. This is a well-honed dancehall machine at work.
Anyway, the new album is called “Wildfire” and it drops this summer. We’ll wait with baited breath.
Robert Earl Keen’s Scriptorium seems like a cool place. I’ve heard about his replica of Daniel Plainview’s office for years. I’d kinda like to see a story about that, too. (Hey, I did that without making joke about milkshakes too.)
When I hear that someone has a “Spaghetti-Western, Noir-ish, Tex-Mex Country Band” I usually roll my eyes because I’ve seen a million of those bands and they’re almost never any good. They tend to be more inspired by Quentin Tarrantino than, you know, actual music. What makes Crooks so good is that they understand and integrate all their influences so well. The country sounds like country, the Tejano sounds like Tejano, and the spaghetti western sounds like Morricone. It sounds more like the natural outgrowth of some guys who grew up listening to music on the border, which is why I like it. Because I’m a guy who grew up listening to a radio station that would play The Clash, Doug Sahm, and Los Tigres Del Norte in the same set. (Lead singer Josh Mazour is also one of the most consistently well dressed, western-wear wise, guys you’ll see.) THIS BAND GETS ME YOU GUYS NOW BOOK THEM ON A TOUR WITH MORRISSEY AND MAKE MY GROUCHY EL PASO COUNTY SELF SMILE.
What I’m Drinking
This week I’m drinking Carta Blanca because if you live on the border your life is awash in visual reminders of Carta Blanca. Carta Blanca signs are everywhere. I never remember what Carta Blanca tastes like. (It tastes like beer. Imagine drinking a beer that comes in a bottle that just says “Beer” in black type, like in Helvetica or something on a plain white label. It tastes nondescript, but pretty much just like beer. You’re not disappointed but you’re not wowed. This is the Carta Blanca experience.)I just know that it’s hot out and I’ve seen a hundred Carta Blanca signs and I’m drinking one right now as I type and hey, it’s a billion degrees outside and cold beer tastes good.
cultwestern.com 