POST NO. 6: A HAIRY REISSUE

I'm told that Gary Higgins fits into the ever ambiguous category of beard-folk, a subgenre of freak-folk, otherwise known as psych-folk. (On a side note, can you be a member of the beard-folk set if you don't have a beard? I guess not. But, what happens if Sam Beam and Devendra Banhart shave off their chin hair tomorrow? Is their license to practice beard-folk revoked?)

Sad-folk would probably be a more appropriate description for Higgins. My first few spins through the Drag City reissue of Higgins' 1973 album Red Hash have left me slightly underwhelmed. It's not that Red Hash is without its intriguing moments; rather, the mood and pacing of the record is a constant flat line -- a steady, somber crawl. The entire album is a melancholy affair. It's sort of like listening to a Nick Drake record that features the valleys but not the occasional peak.

Still, take any of these songs on their lonesome, and there's much to love. The acoustic guitar picking and strumming of Higgins and Jake Bell is at times hypnotic. When the guitar is coupled with the sonic backsplash of cello, mandolin, piano, and flute, it lends the music a timeless feel, as if we were eavesdropping on a "prog-rock" band from the 15th Century. Higgins occassionally pitches his tent in the early-'70s singer-songwriter camp as well, as on "Cuckoo," when Higgins sings "I've really gone insane / Can't even spell my name / The cuckoo is in pain, again / Please don't die on me, Mr. Cuckoo, please". Not exactly a chipper song.

But as I said, from start to finish Red Hash is downright glum and often haunting a la Nick Drake. In that sense, Higgins' modern equivalent is probably Iron & Wine. Matter of fact, if Sam Beam hasn't yet heard Higgins' album, I'd be shocked. The two color their folk with the same box of 64 crayons. Nods also could be made to Six Organs of Admittance -- who are partly responsible for rediscovering Higgins after all these years -- Devendra Banhart, and cult weirdos Skip Spence and Pearls Before Swine.

Higgins is one of those "lost" artists. Like Jackson C. Frank, Higgins' recorded output amounts to a handful of songs. Also like Frank, Higgins disappeared from the scene faster than he arrived. Supposedly, Red Hash was hastily recorded just days before Higgins was to enter prison (marijuana possession). An attempt at a self-release was thwarted after only a few records were sold. (Which explains, I suppose, why we haven't heard much from him or about this record since 1973.)

Gary Higgins - "I Can't Sleep"

Gary Higgins - "Stable the Spuds"

There really isn't much more info available on Higgins, but Vinyl Mine has posted an mp3 from Higgins' recent live appearance on WFMU. If you don't already, you should check in with Vinyl Mine frequently -- it's a great music blog.