The tour officially kicks off February 10 in Kyoto, Japan. They’ll do about a week of dates there before coming back across the Pacific for some March shows in the American Southwest. Then in April, it’s off to Europe, where they’re scheduled to hit Ireland, the U.K., Switzerland and France.

Although no further dates have been confirmed, they’re planning to do the festival circuit in North America and Europe this summer.

Calexico formed in the early ’90s when classical music student Joey Burns hooked up with John Convertino in Los Angeles. The two worked together in bands like Giant Sand and Friends Of Dean Martinez before recording their own compositions in their Tucson home studio.

They won early praise for their laid-back, spaghetti Western-influenced indie rock, and soon found themselves signed to Quarterstick/Touch & Go Records. With shades of South American music as well as ’50s jazz and country running through their musical veins, Calexico have developed a following as diverse as their influences.

According to their Web site, they have a few new releases in store for the ’04. A new EP, titled Convict Pool, and their World Drifts In DVD – featuring a live performance at London’s Barbican Hall – are slated for release this spring. A tour-only CD is also in the works for later this year.

Their last album, Feast Of Wire, was released in February 2003 on Quarterstick.