Giant Sand isn't really a band these days; instead, it's a concept that has emerged from the mind of
Howe Gelb, and ultimately, that's all for the best. It's hard to imagine how
Gelb could get one reasonably sized set of musicians to conjure up the many moods and tonal colors of
Giant Sand's 2015 studio effort
Heartbreak Pass, but by jumping back and forth between several states, countries, and continents, he's not only come up with an uncommonly rich and imaginative set of performances, he's made an album that scans remarkably well considering the miles he logged putting it together. One tune, "Done," was cut during sessions in Brussels, Crete, and Ottawa, while "Heaventually" features bits recorded in Italy, England, Tennessee, and Arizona. As
Gelb says in the liner notes,
Heartbreak Pass comprises "3 volumes of 15 songs here representing living 2 lives for 30 years. Don't do the math. It doesn't figure." And he's right, it doesn't, but if the numbers are faulty, the emotions are not, and all that globetrotting does serve a thematic purpose. One of the key recurring themes on
Heartbreak Pass is the nomadic life of a musician, and how hard it is to hold on to the people you love when you're hopping on planes, battling jet lag, or simply trying to remember where you are. One of the album's most touching songs, "Home Sweet Home," deals with the nuts and bolts of a touring artist's routine, and the closer is, significantly enough, a rough but sweet duet between
Gelb and his teenage daughter, "Forever and Always." This being
Giant Sand,
Gelb's longing and weariness are filtered through his smoky, warmly downbeat vocals and an arid melodic style that fuses the C&W melodies with enough left turns and electronic seasoning to remind us we're not in Tucson anymore, at least most of the time. But
Gelb's songs are always heartfelt behind his occasional eccentricities, his musicians (who include
Jason Lytle of
Grandaddy, former
Sonic Youth drummer
Steve Shelley,
Grant-Lee Phillips, and
Ilse DeLange) do splendid work on
Gelb's behalf, and
John Parish's production smarts hold the album together gracefully.
Heartbreak Pass is, like much of
Howe Gelb's best work, an ambitious project that still seems emotionally intimate, and revels in a ramshackle charm that belies how strong the elements truly are -- it's one man's unique vision, and if he's proud of it, well, he certainly should be. ~ Mark Deming