Giant Sand

Giant Sand was the primary outlet for the stylistic curveballs and sun-damaged songcraft of Howe Gelb, a Pennsylvania-born singer/guitarist who found his muse in Tucson, Arizona in the '80s. Beginning as a scrappy rock band with a psychedelic bent, Gelb and his rotating band of collaborators matured into a group that combined hard rock guitars and lonesome country twang with a dry, dusty sound that was an ideal match for Gelb's playful lyrical eccentricities. Giant Sand's trademark sound fell into place with 1988's The Love Songs, while 1995's Glum and 2000's Chore of Enchantment captured Gelb and company at the peak of their abilities. While Gelb retired Giant Sand in 2016, he brought the concept back in the summer of 2018 with the album Returns to Valley of Rain.

The Giant Sand story began when Howe Gelb formed the four-piece Giant Sandworms after relocating to Tucson, Arizona in the mid-'70s. After releasing the EP Will Wallow and Roam After the Ruin in 1980, Gelb fired everyone but bassist Scott Gerber (although founding guitarist Rainer Ptacek returned to the fold many times) and started over as simply Giant Sand, essentially a one-man band backed by a revolving cast of players.