“Crystal Frontier” sums up Calexico as well as anything does. A Hammond B3 organ note slowly swells while muted guitar strums echo dub-style into the distance. Suddenly, mariachi horns kick in playing a fanfare before they’re joined by a furiously strummed acoustic guitar. The first verse invokes the Seven Lost Cities of Gold, but the second verse features more mundane drama.

“Amalia’s face hides behind the mask

sweating on the TV factory line.

That smile on her face is sta...