David Grubbs is probably best know for his partnership
with Jim O’Rourke and a shifting pool of musicians
(including members of Tortoise) as Gastr Del Sol. The
group split up in 1997 and since then he’s been
pretty prolific – A Guess At The Riddle
is the singer’s eleventh release in seven years.
Those recordings have been alternately instrumental
(with Swedish saxophonist Mats Gustaffson a frequent
collaborator) and song-based. A Guess At The Riddle
sits in the latter camp, though it ends with a chilling
windscape called Coda (Breathing). The sound
is predominantly indie and guitar-based although if
you’re not a fan of such music, please don’t
let that description put you off because structure and
instrumentation are notably playful. This is indie inspired
by the rolling rhythms and lyrical inventiveness of
The Velvet Underground’s Live 1969 recordings.
It may be Grubbs’ confessional, direct address
that sparks such comparisons.
A glance at the Kim Hiorthoy designed CD cover will
immediately reveal the particular riddle, if not the
answer, to which the title refers– a stylised
skull peeks from behind a large cape. The design is
entirely appropriate to the album’s music and
lyrics that also essay a light approach to serious preoccupations.
Perhaps the first thing to strike any new listener to
Grubbs’ songs is the artist’s voice which
at times sounds youthful and innocent and at other times
world-weary and pathos-ridden (sometimes both aspects
are audible in a single line). Subject matter resists
easy interpretation, as with Hurricane Season
whose lyrics were written by author Rick Moody (author
of The Ice Storm)
‘Hurricane season, humoured with regrets,
Barometric swoon, seagulls and egrets
Tonight, in the monsoon
Hurricane town, bleached white
Under black convectionary clouds, Breed the gymnasium
brown
Windows taped with crosses, like All Souls night
Refrain with a vengeance, we know the rain dance...’
The air of foreboding detectable in this lyric is
emblematic of much of A Guess At The Riddle
which, although initially upbeat and carefree sounding,
becomes increasingly serious the more intently it’s
listened to. Guest musicians include members of Mice
Parade and Matmos
who pay Grubbs a return visit (he appeared on last year’s
The Civil War)
by contributing to the drone on the above-detailed Hurricane
Season as well as sundry other electronics.
Songs are like people – if you like the sound
of them, you’ll want to get to know them and in
so doing you’ll notice their quirks and qualities.
This album is no different, it’s immediately attractive
but gradually it reveals subtle layers and possibilities
not initially apparent, which are singularly rewarding
to explore.
Colin Buttimer
3.5/5
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