Some combinations just make sense. For many years, Iron & Wine mastermind Sam Beam has been finding interesting places to push his sensitive, introverted whisper-folk. And for many years, the Arizona duo Calexico have been finding interesting places to push their thoughtful, fried, vaguely psychedelic Americana. It only seems right that they would find each other. Next month, Calexico and Iron & Wine will release their collaborative album Years To Burn. We’ve already posted first single “Father Mountain.” And today, the two entities have shared another new one called “Midnight Sun.”

“Midnight Sun” is a very pretty song, one driven by an old-timey folk-music rhythm and a few hushed, reverent harmonies. But while “Midnight Sun” could work perfectly well as an acoustic-guitar campfire singalong, that’s not what Beam and Calexico do with it. Instead, they’ve turned it into a mystical rocker, one that expands into cosmic effects-pedal Crazy Horse shit and then contracts into comforting murmurs.

Of the song, Calexico’s Joey Burns says:

Sam [Beam] sent some demos the week before we met to record the album. Based on the feel of those demos I wrote the song “Midnight Sun” the day I got to Nashville. I arrived at our rental house the day before everyone else and was happy to find a piano, old pump organ, and guitar to do some writing. I was up late and came up with a tune that would bridge both bands’ worlds. I started with a drone in F# and was curious as to where it would take me.

Listen below.

Years To Burn is out 6/14 via City Slang in the EU and UK and Sub Pop in the rest of the world. Pre-order it here.