Howe Gelb To Release The Coincidentalist Nov 5

Howe Gelb has returned with The Coincidentalist, a transfixing collection of songs steeped in the dusty and discerning Americana he first began experimenting with more than 30 years ago. It will be released November 5 on his new label home New West Records.

The album’s lead track, “Vortexas,” a wry and sly duet with off-center songsmith Will Oldham (credited as Bonny Billy), premiered recently. With the opening line of “Welcome to the desert” the song serves as the perfect introduction to his enigmatic  cactus-filled universe for the unfamiliar and as a welcomed return for the initiated.

Produced and recorded by Gelb largely in his home base of Tucson, at Wavelab studio and Harvey Moltz’s studio, his latest solo album is somewhere between his 40h and 50th release, but characteristic to Gelb’s quizzical self he doesn’t know exactly; he thinks it’s bad luck to know. Superstitions aside, the record, self produced by Gelb and mixed by John Parish, is his strongest in years and culminates three decades of freewheeling and forward-thinking music making either as Howe Gelb, Giant Sand, its larger incarnation Giant Giant Sand or under the guise of The Band… of Blacky Ranchette, Arizona Amp & Alternator, ‘Sno Angel and OP8.

For The Coincidentalist, the shape-shifting, ever evolving Gelb mines from his vast sonic playbook and melds desert-folk, alt-country, indie rock, jazz and experimental into a style he lovingly refers to as “erosion rock.” Gelb is the principle vocalist and also plays guitar, piano and chimes and is joined on the album by an ensemble cast of musicians featuring M. Ward on guitar, former Sonic Youth drummer Steve Shelley and Giant Sand bassist and all around Gelb cohort Thøger Tetens Lund. Scottish singer KT Tunstall (whose most recent album Invisible Empire/Crescent Moon was co-produced by Gelb), Will Oldham, violinist Andrew Bird, and pedal steel guitarist John Rauhouse lend their talents to a variety of songs on the LP.

Related Content

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recent Posts

New to Glide

Keep up-to-date with Glide

Twitter