[2] Founded in 1996, the band's two main members, Joey Burns and John Convertino, first played together in Los Angeles as part of the group Giant Sand.

Their musical style is influenced by traditional Latin sounds of mariachi, conjunto, cumbia, and tejano mixed with country, jazz, and post-rock.

[3] Calexico had its origins in 1990 when Joey Burns, who was studying music at the University of California, Irvine, met up with John Convertino, who was playing drums with Howe Gelb in Giant Sand.

[citation needed] Around this time, Burns and Convertino also played in the Friends of Dean Martinez along with Bill Elm.

[citation needed] The band subsequently became a kind of indie rhythm section for hire, working with the likes of Victoria Williams, Bill Janovitz, Barbara Manning and Richard Buckner before forming Calexico.

Calexico first recorded Spoke in 1995 for German independent label Hausmusik with a limited edition of 2,000 copies.

Burns and Convertino also collaborated with Gelb and Lisa Germano on the album Slush released under the name OP8 that same year.

This was a concept album about the desert of Arizona and northern Mexico and received excellent reviews, with the critic from the Wall Street Journal rating it as one of the best records of the year.

The Road Map album was a limited recording released in 1999 for sale only at Calexico's live shows.

Calexico released its third album Hot Rail in May 2000 featuring the addition of horns and violin to their sound.

The album also featured Mariachi Luz de Luna who frequently played live with the duo.

Their songs "Ballad Of Cable Hogue" and "Service And Repair" were featured in the 2001 German comedy movie Lammbock.

[citation needed] Released in 2006, Garden Ruin is Calexico's fifth studio album and was produced by JD Foster.

Their sixth studio LP is called Carried to Dust, featuring Sam Beam of Iron & Wine, Douglas McCombs of Tortoise and Pieta Brown.

The album features guest appearances by Neko Case, Sam Beam (Iron & Wine), Ben Bridwell (Band of Horses), Gaby Moreno, Carla Morrison and members of the Greek instrumental group Takim.

[14] The Thread That Keeps Us also entered the charts in Europe at #7 in Germany, #13 in Belgium, #21 in Netherlands, #47 in France, #58 in the United Kingdom, and #60 in Italy.

Amazon gave their album a 90/100 and described it as "what Sigur Ros might sound like if they came from Arizona, and it's truly excellent.

Describing the album as "their most balanced, channeling their experience and potential into a subtly dramatic, chiaroscuro tour de force.