Califone appears to exist by default. It’s as if Tim Rutili and his various old bandmates from the Chicago scene sometimes just run into each other and fall back into recording music. Stitches is Califone's first album recorded outside of Chicago in warmer climes like Southern California, Arizona, and Texas. And with these slower tunes, you might get the idea that the open land and sunshine inspired the musicians to find their inner Calexico—but a loose cut like “Magdalene” is likely what happens when old friends mess around anyhow. There’s an informality to the songs, a sense that no one thought too hard or overworked their parts, since the cast was constantly revolving. Tim Hurley (Red Red Meat), Jessie Stein (The Luyas), Joe Westerlund (Megafaun), and Eric Heywood (Son Volt) are among the musicians who shuffled in and out, and some configuration of them made songs like “Bells Break Arms” (with its block harmonies, angry pianos, and space instruments) and “A Thin Skin of Bullfight Dust” (with its synths and nervous percussion) come to peculiar life.