I don't know how he does it. Really, Howe Gelb shouldn't be making music this enjoyable, not with that voice of his. Gelb's larynx commands a staunchly unmelodic rasp, hovering in a range that's obviously too low for his natural delivery. And the perverse thing about it is, I think he does it on purpose-- his past records with Giant Sand (and there are a lot of them) suggest he has quite a range, though one unifying principle remains in place on every one of his albums: he studiously avoids sounding polished and professional.
Part of what makes it work is his sense of humor, which frequently permeates his records. His songs often contain the kinds of jokes you get the second or third time around, and his delivery is occasionally part of the punchline. Gelb's latest solo record-- arriving more than two decades after his first release with Giant Sand precursor Giant Sandworms-- is a casual, good-natured romp recorded in Denmark and Arizona, stuffed full of cabaret, porch jazz and slacker noir, furthering Gelb's recent trend away from the idiosyncratic desert blues-rock on which Giant Sand initially built their cult following.
Gelb hooks you with his liner notes before the album even starts, penning a hugely successful and entertaining prank diary, wherein he's been hired to research the "actions and displays of modern thinkers" by a company that makes custom-sized rivets for Airstream trailers. To get close to his people, he decides to become a "cult artist," and there's a passage that so positively slays the indie rock scene (and his own past) that I have to repeat it in full here:
"First, a lack of proficiency on any instrument of choice;This would allow a more unique style to emerge from the playing.Second, a definite omission of melody in the material;This made it even easier to qualify to such status.And thirdly, a demeanor of abandon;A reckless execution mixed with an offhanded delivery with too much wordplay."
The whole notion that he attained cult status in the underground specifically to aid the process of selling out is icing on the cake. Of course, this is a guy who labored in obscurity for decades, never really receiving the kind of attention that most upstart bands receive after a month in the Brooklyn club scene these days, so he's entitled to get his licks in. That he carries this spirit into the music is a pleasure for the listener.
"Felonious", in particular, reveals his piano bar jokester side, blatantly copping the riff from "Sweet Jane" for the piano part then admitting it with the opening line, "The piano's stealing Lou Reed licks/ Licks that he probably stole." The whole thing unfolds in ramshackle widescreen ambience, with Calexico (themselves Giant Sand alums) functioning as the house band, and swelling strings offering offhandedly pretty melodic accompaniment.
The Danish tracks-- featuring assorted Danish scenesters and a backing band called Under Byen-- reside in a realm of demented jazz, where tension builds and resolves in unexpected ways, and the tango is anything but elegant. Peter Dombernowsky's hand percussion is the driving rhythmic force on these tracks, and the smears of classically trained violin and drunken sax that Under Byen provide render things rudely off color. "B 4 U (Do Do Do)" brutally butchers Bill Withers' "Lean on Me" over a backdrop that could only be called rock in the loosest possible sense-- which is not to say it's good, though it is strangely captivating.
The Listener is ultimately such a strange record that it's hard to really classify; Giant Sand fans are going to love it, naturally (all twelve of them likely already own it), but people new to Gelb and his accomplices might be left scratching their heads. Gelb's work is ultimately difficult to approach without simply diving in cold, and with that in mind, this album is probably as good a place to start as any (I might recommend Giant Sand's Purge & Slouch, Glum, or Chore of Enchantment first, but they're all similarly whacked). As a slow convert to Gelb's world myself, I know his stuff's not for everybody, but I have to say it's worth a try for anyone with a wide open ear and a sense of humor.
