Dean Owens - Sand And Blood (The Desert Trilogy EPs, Vol 2) (2021)

The second batch of songs recorded with Calexico’s Joey Burns and John Convertino from Calexico, one from the forthcoming Sinner’s Shrine and three exclusives, featuring members of Calexico, this is a generally more muted affair than Vol 1 (reviewed here). It opens in Morricone-like territory with the former, the reflective Land Of The Hummingbird, co-written with Gabriel Sullivan from Giant Sand, a loping drum beat and tinkling piano notes carrying along with a samba-like rhythm that has Owens duetting with Guatemalan singer songwriter Gaby Moreno.

The three non-album cuts kick off with the equally moody and parched Dolina, brass flourishes complementing the distant guitar twang and hollow drums as, the vocals at time echoey back in the mix, it unfolds a desert-dry tale of dark souls, doomed love and regret, the title serving as the refrain. That’s followed by Ashes & Dust, a distant funeral march drum beat, brooding guitars and whispery, echoing vocals on another number that’s soaked in regret, lost souls, betrayal and trust, the blessed and the cursed and lines about how we all carry our cross, a desolate guitar solo providing the bridge as trumpets carry it to a close.

The final track is actually a more urgently paced, slightly shorter and solo sung reimaging of the first, taking its title, She Was A Raven, from the chorus, the piano replaced by more forceful drums and brass embellishments, the rhythm still having a Latin sway but with darker Mexican border colours and the lyrics revised (or translated) to underscore its theme of loss (“now she’s with the flowers”) as it builds to a frenzied finale. Cinematic and atmospheric, it further whets anticipation for July’s third and final EP taster and the album’s eventual big picture panorama.