Provisions

Inaccurately yet affectionately dubbed "the Godfather of Alt. Country" by the British press, Tucson, Arizona-based musician Howe Gelb has remained the sole epicenter and creative force behind the ever-fluid configurations of Giant Sand for over a quarter century, giving birth along the way to an extended musical family tree that fostered the likes of The Band of Blacky Ranchette, The Friends of Dean Martinez, OP8, and Calexico.

Produced by Howe and Kent Olsen (Arizona Amp and Alternator, Marie Frank), the 13 tracks on 'Provisions' were recorded during a summer in Denmark, and features the Danish musicians Thoger T. Lund (bass), Peter Dombernowsky (drums), and Anders Pedersen (slide guitar). As with past incarnations of the band, the current lineup utilizes a more natural form of playing, relying heavily on improvisation and "on the fly" problem solving, as well as exploring the latent melodic variations within the songs themselves.

Also lending themselves to the casual mix are a host of talented friends / collaborators - such as Neko Case, M. Ward, Isobel Campbell, Henriette Sennenvaldt, Lucie Idlout and Lonna Kelley - all of whom ease warmly into the passenger seat to ride shotgun for a while on an album thick with musings scattered by the desert winds and soaked with eroding guitars or dusty piano.

Providing an alternate route around box-store labels like "Alt. Country" while ruminating on love and loss in the socio-political climate of a modern world at odds with itself, 'Provisions' is a creeping cruise down a dark desert highway, forging another surprising and welcome byway in the completely unique musical legacy of Giant Sand.