Since 1997, Calexico has lived up to the promise of its name. Drawing on Mexican music traditions, they’ve created a soundtrack to desert living with a dose of indie rock to keep it all honest. Led by multi-instrumentalists Joey Burn and John Convertino, Calexico has carved its own space with a buoyant brand of fusion over the course of seven studio records and a rotating cast of members. Now they’re back with Edge of the Sun (Anti- Records), the eighth studio album.

One thing you can always count on from Calexico is a sense of consistency. Thought there’s a sonic eclecticism that’s makes up their signature sound, it’s nowhere near the John Zorn brand of genre jumping. Calexico does manage some fairly wide stylistic shifts over the course of an album, but because they’ve always given themselves a pretty broad palate from which to pull, it never feels like a forced thing. Edge of the Sun continues on that same path and in some ways is a return to form after a diversion into a New Orleans sounds on the previous album, Algiers. It’s also a testament to the strength of the Calexico aesthetic that the guests on the album, which include Neko Case and Iron & Wine, never detract from it. The high lonesome pedal steel, the punchy horns, the Spanish guitar—nearly everything is in place. One curiously noticeable thing, though, is that the songs with a heavier Tex-Mex influence seem pushed to the latter part of the record. As such, the energy flow of the record feels off, not because the opening tracks are a dirge, but because when “Cumbia Donde” kicks in it’s such a jolt. The second half of the album almost feels like a different outing. There are some strong introspective moments, such as “World Undone,” but the upbeat songs seem to stick more.

Edge of the Sun is a solid latter day addition to the Calexico catalog. While is doesn’t necessarily pull itself away from the pack, it’s hard to argue against a band still able to maintain such a high level of output after all these years.