Rating: NNNN
Howe Gelb’s latest album is constantly in the process of gelling. The Giant Sand songwriter, pianist and guitarist often lingers in barroom jazz piano or experimental territory for a while before returning to something more familiar. Say, late-period Neil Young-style folk rock or alt-country.
The philosophical lyrics are rooted in the past and full of funny wordplay. And the haphazard impressionistic moments are balanced by cloudbursts of ramshackle glory like the rhythmic intro on Left Of Center and the Ram-style backup vocals on Triangulate.
Gelb invited a lot of guests to join in, including KT Tunstall, Bonnie Prince Billy and Andrew Bird, but it’s his excellently loose band (featuring M. Ward and Sonic Youth’s Steve Shelley), intimate vocals and fondness for chimes that keep the disintegrating threads woven together.
Top track: Picacho Peak
Howe Gelb plays the Drake Underground Saturday (December 7).
