Thrill Jockey
2005
Arizona Amp And Alternator
About This Album
Howe Gelb's 2005 effort with Arizona Amp and Alternator ambles out of his mind like usual, kicking dust from its denim verses and finding side doors into moments that open into spacious desert ballrooms. The drums drop in late on opener "Velvet and Pearl," and tick along like a rusty generator; Gelb's vocal is on top of the microphone, blowing into it, but his "Little late to find out you meant all the world" lyric is perfectly, haphazardly heartbreaking. The atmosphere grows with "Where the Wind Turns the Skin to Leather," while their cover of the Traffic gem "Low Spark of High Heeled Boys" (with Grandaddy in support) plays it only sort of straight -- like a desert motel that only cleans the top sheet, there's dirt and cynicism in its hollows. Of course these are the places Gelb has always inhabited, whether in his own material or the expanses of Giant Sand, so Arizona Amp and Alternator's brushed acoustic guitars, stretches of squelch, and shuffled vocals will sound familiar to his devotees. Yeah, familiar like the worn brass rail of a tavern. Gelb has so many songs and stories stuck in his brain, Arizona Amp is just the latest crumpled brilliant letter from Americana's unofficial poet laureate.
Track List (try tracks 2,5,6 and 16)

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