Steve Gunn

the ending of tommy's congo is kind of odd, like it actually stops, when it seemed like it had to go on for 20 minutes or fade out or something

after a few repetitions it doesn't sound so 'african' any more

yeah this is great

Man, go see this band live if you get a chance. On tour right now and all of the songs opened up amazingly well live. The record is great, no doubt, but they pull all of it off and then some in a live context. The guitar interplay (Jim Elkington, who plays on the record, is touring as the second guitarist/lap steel player) is awesome.

As I touched on in the other thread- you could pretty much bring anyone along to this show and they'd probably be pretty enamored.

Man, I tried to get a whole bunch of folks to the show here with that in mind. It was actually a pretty great turnout for this town (and the venue in particular), but the band should appeal to all kinds of folks that weren't there. Gotta say that it is nice to see them at this level though, I was front and center with zero distractions, i.e., everyone there was super into the show and quiet while the band played, no dead weight audience-wise at all.

Man, I would love to see this band. Last time I saw Jim Elkington was when he was fronting the Zincs and opening for the Sea and Cake and he was totally ace.

Too bad they're coming anywhere near me.

*they're NOT

live show here: http://nblo.gs/10EnFZ

I didn't expect that!!!!!!!!!! YESSSS

Sweet! Psyched to check this out (i.e. I just started streaming it .....) Nice sound at the outset, digging in.

Oh man this show is good. "Way Out Weather" is flooring me right now ....

yeah, this show/recording smokes

Similar to your experience (set list etc) though?

xp

Yeah, the three set lists from this tour I have seen have all been about the same. Performance I saw was exactly the same sequence-wise, but "Tommy's Congo" and "Way Out Weahter" were flipped and we didn't get to see "The Lurker". Performances similar, but of course they are riding the energy and improvising differently. This NYC show definitely smokes as Tyler puts it, but so did the show I saw. Just a damn good band.

new tune/video!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsG0kDv2EGs&feature=youtu.be

It's ok, kinda sounds like a slightly more measured version of the recent jammy solo Malkmus stuff. Maybe that's Matador's fault?

yeah definitely the poppiest thing he's done so far ... think i dig it though.

i really wanna like this dude but i just cant get down with the vocals

what's wrong with them? too breathy/throaty? i feel like it suits the low-key vibe of the music well

^ agreed. if he sounded like Benjamin Booker or something, i'd understand.

just not very expressive or something

or maybe i just don't dig the melodies

If Time Off doesn't do it for you then yeah maybe it's just not your thing.

this is alright but he's definitely moving in a direction away from the things i've generally liked about him

this feels more indie than grateful dead meets fahey

know what you mean, but i'll reserve judgment til i hear the whole thing.
other news: three lobed has put the two OOP gunn-truscinski records together into a nice double LP set
http://threelobed.bandcamp.com/album/ocean-parkway

Now that's more like it.

of course, i thought Way Out Weather sounded a bit too lush when i first heard it, and I totally grew to love that record...

i would totally see him live though

he kills live

was really glad to be able to see him at old familiar chime fest cuz i don't get the sense he does acoustic sets much anymore

He does! At least locally. Saw him go acoustic two consecutive weekends in a row in separate locations. Again though, NYC local here.

this leaked incredibly early

(and it's good)

yow, this gunn-truscinski set from a few weeks back is godlike: http://www.nyctaper.com/2016/04/gunn-truscinski-duo-march-26-2016-three-lobed-sweet-sixteen-spectacular-kings-raleigh-nc/

Oooooooh, definitely gonna check that!

that slays. thanks!

"banh mi ringtones" is tremendous, manuel göttsching style

yeah this rules

hoping these guys make another album -- with gunn moving in a more song-y direction, i hope he still indulges his jammed out side.
by the way, the new one is really growing on me. driving around a bit with it as the soundtrack last weekend was perfect.

EYES ON THE LINES.

http://www.npr.org/2016/05/10/477374821/songs-we-love-steve-gunn-ancient-jules

its lovely

im getting a kinda Allman Brothers vibe from it

sounds good as expected

it kinda shreds

I like this guy so far. Something bothers me a little bit about the English folk pretensions. Like a lot of artists of this generation, I feel like he's approximating via his record collection, and doing a pretty good job of it, but still it feels more like he took, idk, Tom Petty or something and added "English folk seasoning blend."

tom petty's song structures are way simpler tho--i don't really get that vibe from gunn

Yeah, I don't think Petty is really the right reference point, I just mean that I feel like he doesn't quite earn the English folkisms he throws in. IDK, I'm a little grumpy today, he's really pretty good.

earlier stuff on paradise of bachelors and elsewhere drew more from tompkins square ragga picking styles, along with tuareg-esque desert vibes. this matador album sounds more 'streamlined' but i'm liking it just fine

Yeah, it's a general complaint I have about today's eclecticism that there's a lot of rough imitation of different styles going on, sort of capturing the stylistic and sonic feel but not digging into what's going on musically.

I think Scott S had a good line somewhere on this board about great bands that are born of failed imitations of others' music. But the dilletantism of it still bothers me. Like those tuareg guitarists spend their careers just learning to play that style of guitar really well, and there's something kind of thin about just listening to some records of it and vaguely capturing the "vibes" of it.

no i totally get that!

Gunn was on two different Magic Markers releases from 2007 according to discogs- which I’m now keen on hearing.

https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/steve-gunn-other-you

Might try this one.

Despite my ambivalence toward his last solo effort.

I like it. It’s not a major departure but I do like it more than the last album.

i am always rooting for gunn but man this is some soft ass shit

Haha, that sums up my thoughts on the last one. I'll give this a listen.

Yeah, I really like most of his work but the 2019 solo album left me cold and the reviews for this new one so far don't convince me it will be much different.

I liked his last solo album. Excited to hear this one

Spoke too soon, this new one is lovely. I really like it.

Ok. That's encouraging. I've not got round to it yet.

It's really hard to put my finger on what makes this so much more inviting than Unseen since much of it is still largely in the same vein, but it really is. I was won over fairly early on, but the instrumental track with Mary Lattimore is so beautiful that it took the record to a whole new level.

The guy is probably really beat up about Chapman. I feel bad for him.

As far as the albums go I really miss the loose jammy-ness of the first couple of records in his more recent stuff, but I haven't heard this one yet.

Yeah that instrumental track toward the end of the album was a surprising highlight.

is it just me or does the vocal on "Reflection" sound autotuned to shit?

Got the new one. I'm on first listen and I already like it. It's just more atmospheric (?) than the last one. Dunno. But a good thing.

I’d like to sink comfortably into the smooth acoustic groove web this guy weaves but something is just so grating. A song and a half is the most I can stand

I ate an edible and this album rules

<3

"tommy's congo" = song of the decade

― reggie (qualmsley), Thursday, August 9, 2018 4:01 PM (three years ago) bookmarkflaglink

https://stevegunn.bandcamp.com/album/live-in-london

this must've been some show

So Steve Gunn just releases this a few weeks ago:

https://stevegunn.bandcamp.com/album/music-for-writers

And now!

https://stevegunn.bandcamp.com/album/daylight-daylight

“For Writers” passed right by me when I listened to it. Haven’t gone back to it.

Yeah, I'll be honest, For Writers was fine but probably won't be one I come back to. This other new one seems very promising though!

music for writers sounds amazing to me — same as with the recent collabs with david moore.
new one is on the mellower side, some great string arrangements.