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Album Details

• Artist: Howe Gelb
• Album: Confluence
• Label: Thrill Jockey
• Year of Release: 2001
• Reviewed by: dscanland on 2003-04-01

Think you have Howe Gelb figured out? Not likely. The front man for Giant Sand is back with his solo followup to 1998's Hisser. Howe is one of those workaholic type musicians. Not only does he have his Giant Sand gig but he has time for solo albums as well as running an artist run label calles Ow Om. Gelb took Confluence on the road to Bristol UK where he worked once again with the talented John Parish (John worked on Giant Sand's Chore of Enchantment). Other sites for Confluence recordings were New York and his home in Arizona. His buddies in Grandaddy showed up and the result is documented in a sparse version of Elvis' "Can't Help Falling In Love". As Howe whispers out his mind twisting lyrics you can't help but wonder just what goes on in his head. He still may not be over the death of his friend, Rainer Ptacek but that's a good thing if Gelb's songwriting stays this sharp. Gelb shows once again he is a delicate and fragile songwriter when he wants to be and there's no better showcase than his solo albums. If you don't get it, try it with headphones.

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