Calexico and Iron & Wine Reunite to Release Debut Studio Album

14 years ago Latin-infused Americana band Calexico teamed up with folk singer-songwriter Sam Beam, better known as Iron & Wine, for an EP called In the Reins. Today, they’ve announced that they’ve teamed up again to release their debut full-length Years to Burn.

Due for release on June 14 via Sub Pop/City Slang, the record consists of eight songs. Today they've shared the first single, “Father Mountain,” a gentle strummer with Beam on lead vocals and Calexico’s Joey Burns harmonizing. Burns had this to say about the new record:

"This project had to find the right time. We’re all different people than we were in 2004, and music helps to bridge some of the gaps. For all the things going on in our world and in each of our lives, this connection, this friendship, this love that we have—this album is a vehicle for that bond. It’s a chance to see where we’re at, take stock and be there for our friends."

Beam added:

"Life is hard. Awesome. And scary as shit. But it can lift you up if you let it. These are the things Joey and I write about now. And the title can encapsulate a lot of things. Years to Burn could mean you’re cocky, you’ve got it made. Or, our life is ours to burn, to be inspired. Or you’re burned by life, brutalized. It’s an ambiguous title, because life is complicated. Let’s not talk like teenagers about love, desire, pain, ’cause we’re not teenagers. And that’s not a bad thing."

Last year, Calexico released the full-length The Thread That Keeps Us while Iron & Wine released the Weed Garden EP. Below, listen to “Father Mountain” and watch both Calexico and Iron & Wine’s KEXP in-studio performances from 2018.