Lit aflame with their first new release in what feels like an eternity, Gastr del Sol raise their crowbars and pry the vault open further today with “The Bells of St. Mary’s”, the second single off We Have Dozens of Titles. The track is a practically-unheard studio recording from David Grubbs and Jim O’Rourke’s trailblazing time together, joining the first single “The Seasons Reverse (live)” to dazzle us all twice-fold ahead of the album’s May 24 release date.

In contrast to the first single off We Have Dozens of Titles — a live re-sequencing of a beloved Gastr tune, pulled from their final performance together — “The Bells of St. Mary’s” is a studio endeavor that initially appeared on a Japan-only Christmas comp from Sony Japan. The request to contribute to a Phil Spector/Christmas Gift tribute comp meant facing an antipathy for the Xmas genre, but Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans’ version played more Spectorian than strictly Christmassy. Gastr del Sol transcends song and genre alike on their version: a wintery abstraction of reconstructed elements. Kinda hilarious, too! It worked well on the comp, sitting alongside Merzbow and Melt-Banana.

Over 25 years after disbanding, Jim O’Rourke and David Grubbs have unpacked their archives to construct We Have Dozens of Titles, stringing together an alternative view to their genre-melting 1993–1998 run in the process. The extended company of players on these numbers (mastered and re-mastered by Jim, yes!) includes Jeb Bishop, Bundy K. Brown, Steve Butters, Gene Coleman, Thymme Jones, Terri Kapsalis, John McEntire, Günter Müller, Bob Weston, and Sue Wolf — a virtual “what’s who wha’?!?” of Chicago’s hothouse scene in those times. This assembly of previously uncollected studio recordings and beautifully captured unreleased live performances forms a spacious ode to the flux that was their métier; a further set of reinventions that continue to alter the manner in which we hear music. Have yourself Dozens of Titles on May 24, 2024!