Search - David Grubbs :: Guess at the Riddle

Exploratory work

We Love Musique | Montreal, Can | 01/20/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"For a new listener unfamiliar with David Grubbs' extensive body of work (this is his 11th solo album, in addition to having been a member of various, highly influential "post-rock" indie outfits such as Bastro, Squirrel Bait and most notably, Gastr del Sol with Jim O'Rourke), A Guess at the Riddle presents itself as somewhat of a conundrum - a work that, when taken out of its of experimental/mathy pedigree, seems to lead the listener down the rootsy path of a man experiencing a touch of inner-city malaise and looking to embrace the simple, and at the same time laying down on that path some shimmering, modern signposts of the very things he seems to flee.



Bittersweet folksy melodies ("Wave Generators"), are juxtaposed with inscrutable lyrical introspection ("One Way Out of the Maze"), while a basement jazz-house piano number peppered with drum-rolls and strings ("Hurricane Season") is capped off with an ambient electronic drone (brought in by members of Matmos and Mice Parade). The album ends with a chilling ambient soundscape ("Coda (Breathing)"), which in doing so, seems to taunt much like the title itself, encouraging us to take a stab at the riddle it presents.



Grubbs' vocals are presented in an intimate and casual manner, and alternate at times between playful innocence and restrained melancholy, though in the end, it's precisely this element of restraint (coupled with an almost spoken delivery) that leaves some of the less technically innovative songs with little emotional weight to carry them. A Guess at the Riddle is, on the whole, an interesting listen, but might not be engaging enough to make it out of the "exploratory work" bin.



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