Escondido may be based in Nashville but the duo of Tyler James and Jessica Maros has its heart in the Western desert. Dusty and elegantly dramatic, Escondido's 2013 debut The Ghost of Escondido showcases a duo who found a common atmospheric ground between dream pop and country-rock, trading upon sounds of the '60s, '70s, and '90s -- Lee Hazlewood & Nancy Sinatra, Fleetwood Mac, and Mazzy Star are recognizable touchstones, and they can also bring to mind Jenny Lewis in her cowgirl phase -- as they create a dreamy, enveloping, panoramic Western pastiche. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine