Pitchfork

Howe Gelb is the Kevin Bacon of the Southwest. Chances are, every musician in the region is connected to him in six degrees or less. He formed Giant Sand, which then spawned OP8, Calexico, the Friends of Dean Martinez, Band of Blanky Ranchette, and Arizona Amp and Alternator. He's worked with Neko Case, Richard Buckner, Scout Niblett, Steve Wynn, Julie Doiron, Evan Dando, Via Tania, and John Parish. He passed along a demo tape of a then-unknown Grandaddy to V2.

He's also part of the SW tradition of producing psychedelic rock-punk-folk weirdos (other proud members include Wayne Coyne, Gibby Haynes, and Curt Kirkwood). Is it the cacti?

But, sometimes you have to expand your horizons, and Gelb is no different. He's gone North. Way North. On March 21, Thrill Jockey releases his latest project, 'Sno Angel Like You, which was recorded with the help of Voices of Praise, a Canadian gospel choir. Recorded in Ottawa by Gelb and Dave Draves and inspired by the image of a snow angel (hey, stranger musical muses have been documented), the album isn't quite gospel music.

According to Gelb, the record "was a grand experiment to see if we could mesh the sounds of the muck I make with the dizzying effect of the glorious sound [the choir] makes." Additional contributors include folk singer Susan Odle and Jeremy Gara, now the drummer for the Arcade Fire. Together, the group recorded seven new songs, three Giant Sand numbers, and three Rainer Ptacek (Gelb's first Giant Sand bandmate) songs. Tracklist:

01 Get to Leave
02 Paradise Here Abouts
03 But I Did Not
04 Hey Man
05 The Farm
06 That's How Things Get Done
07 Love Knows (No Borders)
08 The Voice Within
09 Nail in the Sky
10 Howlin' a Gale
11 Robes of Bible Black
12 Worried Spirits
13 Neon Filler
14 Chore of Enchantment

When Gelb hits the road, he will do so in support of two albums. The first tour, promoting 2005's Arizona Amp and Alternator, will be a more traditional rock affair. For the second tour, Gelb will be accompanied by Voices of Praise in New York and various UK and European dates occurring earlier in May. Hymn to this:

02-25 Brooklyn, NY - Southpaw
02-27 Montreal, Quebec - La Sala Rossa
03-02 Ottawa, Ontario - Babylon
03-04 Kitchener, Ontario - The Boathouse
03-05 Toronto, Ontario - Horseshoe Tavern
05-27 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom *
05-28 Chicago, IL - Old Town School of Folk Music

* with Voices of Praise gospel choir