Search - David Grubbs :: Rickets & Scurvy

Astonishing

Blackberries | PA | 03/11/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"With Rickets & Scurvy, David Grubbs has put together one of the most compelling albums I've heard in years. After thirty seconds of the first song, Transom, I was already swept away. Formerly a member of Camofleur, with Jim O'rourke, Grubbs is one of the many gifted musicians/lyricists on the Drag City label in Chicago. (I believe he has a doctorate in English) My favorite cd from this label was Halfway to a Threeway, by Grubbs's former compatriot Jim O'rourke. Now, after hearing Rickets, it's very hard to decide which cd I like better. The two discs are similar in that the music behind each of them coruscates, and about three or four listens are necessary before starting to decipher the lyrics. Once you get to the lyrics though, wow, it takes everything to a whole new level. O'rourke and Grubbs not only draw you into their pensive thoughts, they keep you there, and when its all over, they leave you alone, but also comforted, melancholy, but also joyous, and they certainly leave you begging for more. Anyway, what I'm trying to get at is the fact that Jim O'rourke and David Grubbs are both incredible mavens in music, providing the world with hallmark albums to enjoy forever. This album, Rickets & Scurvy, is as fine an album as there is. Transom, Don't Think, and A Dream To Help Me Sleep are three of the loveliest, most hypnotic songs ever. Buy this album, and if you like it, buy everything by David Grubbs and Jim O'rourke."