With Even My Sure Things Fall Through, Calexico takes the hit-or-miss world of EPs and fires off a must-have disc for fans and newcomers alike. While most bands put out a smidgen of material to satisfy the loyalists in between albums, the song-writing duo of Joey Burns and John Convertino create a sprawling landscape of music that tops out at a near LP-length 48 minutes, including three videos to play on your computer.

Burns handles vocals and guitar work, including bass, while Convertino manhandles the drums and percussion, his thunderous strikes propelling the epic "Crystal Frontier". Joined by a host of musicians on trumpets, pedal steel and countless other instruments, Calexico takes the music of its homeland, Tucson, and the desert around it and casts images of a southwestern lifestyle teeming with the cowboys and bandits who roam the terrain between the Southwest US and the Mexican countryside. But it’s too easy to pigeonhole Calexico as a Tex/Mex mariachi hybrid that only makes music about the lonesome trails and desert sunsets; there is real songwriting skill here, evidenced by the amazing "Crooked Road & The Briar". Here Burns’ voice floats over a haunting guitar riff as he tells the tale of a murdered daughter "all aglow, fair-white skin, portrait of beauty, angel to many." This is easily the disc's best song, with its terrific vocal turn and simple musical structure. The instrumental version of "Sonic Wind", a track from 2000’s Hot Rail, is also a great opener. The only time the EP really seems to lose its footing is on the remix "Untitled III", which overstays its welcome.

There are so many great audio moments on Even My Sure Things Fall Through that it’s easy to forget the lush visual interpretations of "The Crystal Frontier", "The Black Light" and "The Battle of Cable Hogue". Produced and directed by John Pirozzi, the videos feature gorgeous shots of Arizona, Mexico and the Sonoran desert landscape and an appearance by the lovely singer Marianne Dissard, who plays the part of Madame on the audio as well as the video of "The Battle of Cable Hogue". This EP is truly an awesome piece of artistry that never feels like a throwaway. It should keep Calexico from falling through the cracks any time soon.