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Giant Sand

Musical Group

Giant Sand is an American band from Tucson, Arizona, led by songwriter Howe Gelb. Active since the 1980s, the group blends desert-influenced Americana, alt-country and experimental indie approaches and has a large, varied discography.

Reviews mention Howe Gelb (originally from Pennsylvania), collaborations and guests including John Parish, Vic Chesnutt, Scout Niblett, Isobel Campbell, members of Calexico (Joey Burns and John Convertino), and the late slide guitarist Rainer Ptacek. Early records like Valley of Rain (recorded on a small budget) and later albums such as Chore Of Enchantment and Is All Over The Map are frequently discussed.

DeBaser's reviews praise Giant Sand's desert-infused Americana and experimental restlessness. Howe Gelb's songwriting and shifting line-ups are recurrent themes. Key albums discussed include Valley of Rain, Ballad of a Thin Line Man, Chore Of Enchantment and Is All Over The Map.

For:Fans of Americana, desert rock, alt-country and adventurous indie/lo-fi music.

 

I have been to the desert. You haven't.

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Valley of Rain is the first album in a substantial discography that is almost always of excellent quality, but remains - for enthusiasm, urgency, and compositional freshness - the unsurpassed masterpiece of Giant Sand in which Howe Gelb tells of a valley of rain where, under the cloudy sky and among the giant cacti, dangerous shadows and solitary coyotes roam.

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Swerve: deviation.

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And so, "desert rock" it is.

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