Lead by Red Red Meat’s Tim Rutili, Califone rose from the former band’s rubble like a tattered, limping golem — something that might have potential for supernatural greatness, but appeared pathetically fragile. The band’s unique sound was established early on, floaty, hallucinatory Americana with tentative percussion and various stringed instruments idly plucked and strummed as if they had no particular place to go. Rutili may have had a vision, but it was going to take a long time to get there, hence the barely more than halfbaked feel of the albums. After five years, Rutili has finally realized at least one of his visions, with the help of recurring dreams of a half-man half-bird character, mystically linked to an actual legend.
Whether this is for real or not, Califone actually have some substance to their mystery with an actual story to tell. The other significant change is that the band has found a groove. Inspired by Strictly Personal/Mirror Man era Captain Beefheart, there’s rhythm, movement, and a satisfying, rumbling low-end. “2 Sisters Drunk On Each Other” even incorporates some funk. Califone will never stoop to enunciated vocals or memorable melodies, but the music does achieve an attractive sophistication like a new sort of earthy psychedelia, a rustic version of David Bryne & Brian Eno’s dense Afro-Voodoo experiments in My Life In The Bush of Ghosts. A juxtaposition of unconscious imagination and ancient myth, this highly original music measures up to the conceptual promise as something special.
April 2, 2026
Fester’s Lucky 13: 1986
February 27, 2026
Fester’s Lucky 13: 1976
