HOWE GELB

Howe Gelb and Will Oldham, to me they have a lot in common. Especially that they have the image of the crazed prophet, the slightly deranged boozehead in the underground whose mumblings contain the wisdom of the whole world and all the phenomena behind the experiencable world. Usually it is that way, that you’ve spent half a dozen hours at some bar without any progress, except rising bills and rising alcohol-level in your bloodstream, and then, from out of nowhere, some drunk steps up to you, utters the only good sentences of the whole evening and then passes out in a puddle of his own vomit. Such nights are actually far and between, but still they are the most remarkable you’ll have in months.

Of course, the places where Howe Gelb or Will Oldham live don’t have undergrounds, or bars where you’d like to spend longer than the time you need to drown one beer to kill the dust in your throat. So people grab their guitars, either while hanging around in their living-rooms, or, preferably, sitting on their verandas, watching the sun set behind the desert mountains, the cacti and the hissing of rattlesnakes. Yep, that’s a beautiful picture. I remember that one genius record by the Fellow Travellers, that started with the sentence “All right, make it lonely.” We’ve reached that. “Confluence” breathes and pulsates with loneliness. But this sort of loneliness epitomizes beauty and wisdom, so don’t be afraid, cause this record will make your living room more beautiful indeed.

Spare guitars, some electronic trickery and the strange yet luring harmonies and rhymes of Howe Gelbs lyrics and singing, we have it all here. Is he improvising songs spontaneously, or are there planned and composed structures behind them? Does he write songs or feel them? You’ll have to ask him to get an answer. All I can say is, that it sure feels like inspiration combined with an original artistic vision and executed with very simple means. Which adds a special realism to the recordings, makes them closer to the listener, more intimate. So emotions flow over more easily, even though emotions might not be the right word to describe the way owe Gelb seems to battle with his own feelings and impressions, his thoughts and ideas. What I am trying to say is, if he doesn’t know what he is about, how could I know or dare to make a guess?

Take a song like “cold” and dive into the deep lyrical double- or triple meanings of words like “she was a machine that made sunshine” packed up with “survival means you’re doing fine.” And the song itself is an evil bastard of bluesy stomp and jazz and alcoholics banging away in instruments. Or take “Blue marble girl” that starts with did you ever have one of these days / where you love the town you live in” – which is a strange question if your city is big, but makes a lot of sense with some small ”one hill town”. Go figure. Hardness takes its toll. Some people have to live by watermarks, cause they rule their world.

Some days ago I wrote in another review, that if you say things that other people don’t understand, they will think that you are very smart. But if you do it like Howe Gelb (or Will Oldham) people will either think you are crazy or a visionary. Or a crazy visionary. And as soon as you have reached that status you can start to sing the oldest, most kitschy ballads in a lo-fi kitchen-version and people will like them. Because they are beautiful and you’ve added something more to them, maybe importance, maybe irony or maybe some sense of the wisdom hidden in them. You’ve seen it. If you haven’t yet, let Howe guide you along.