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Engine · 08-09-2009, 12:08 PM

Originally released by Teen Beat
Reissued by Drag City

Track list:
1. A Watery Kentucky
2. Easy Company
3. A Jar of Fat
4. Ursus Arctos Wonderfilis
5. Eye Street
6. For Soren Mueller
7. Serpentine Orbit
8. Even the Odd Orbit

Lineup:
David Grubbs – guitar, piano, vocals
Bundy K. Brown – bass
John McEntire – drums

At some point David Grubbs decided that rock music was too limiting so he took his band mates from the final incarnation of Bastro and began Gastr Del Sol. The Serpentine Similar is their first release, and here he gets as experimental as he wants to be – which is apparently a lot.

The first song, ‘A Watery Kentucky’, is a 9-minute ramble of meandering, slowly swinging guitar with a little bit of bass and some random-sounding percussion thrown in occasionally. It’s topped off with Grubbs mumbling in a sing-song fashion about nothing discernable. The final result sounds indulgent and perhaps a little abusive. Why did Gastr Del Sol use all this studio time and frontload their first album with this piece? It sounds more like a practice session or a loose jam. But, hey, it’s their album so let’s see where it goes. The whole thing is less than a half-hour long so we’re already done with a third of it.

Grubbs pulls out his acoustic guitar for ‘Easy Complex’ and does some quick “jazzy” vocals over staccato strumming and scale runs (fans of Kayo Dot should take note). This one starts to remind me of old Pavement but at about one minute long it hardly has time to go anywhere.

‘A Jar of Fat’ is proof that Grubbs loves avant-garde jazz and probably would rather be doing that. Hey, maybe that’s what he thinks he is doing. That could explain a lot. He begins solo on the piano playing runs that conjure Thelonious Monk or Chick Corea although he was probably shooting more for Cecil Taylor. The scratchy feedback thrown in at the end reminds us that these guys are not seasoned jazzmen but simply college students with musical talent who want to create something new. Oh well, it’s still pretty good.

‘Ursus Arctos Wonderfilis’ is another 180 degree turn as Grubbs pulls out some of his guitar tricks. Grubbs has since become famous for his unique guitar compositions and style, and he has been performing and recording solo guitar for eager audiences since these early days. But here we just get a taste of the repetitive yet deeply textured, folky guitar work to come. Bundy dutifully follows around with his bass as Grubbs explores a bit of John Fahey and Leo Kottke territory. I wish the whole album was like this.

‘Eye Street’ is another piano piece. This time I think we can hear Vince Guaraldi and maybe this is the way that Schroeder will play if he grows up and becomes an intellectual. Maybe he’ll even top off his piano with some odd, non sequitur vocals like Grubbs does here.

‘For Soren Mueller’ finally gives McEntire something to do as Gastr Del Sol begins to work as a three-piece band. It’s still a lot of guitar noodling but they do open the throttle in bursts to let McEntire go wild with the rhythm for a few moments.

‘Serpentine Orbit’ features more vocals up front that may tell some kind of story. Grubbs also plunks out a few notes and chords on his guitar. Meh.

The last track, ‘Even the Odd Orbit’, is another instrumental guitar track. This is early math rock. Grubbs keeps tight control over the complex timing that he uses. Songs like this make me forgive Grubbs for his experimental indulgences; he’s got skills and he should use them however he likes.

Overall, The Serpentine Similar is a fairly disjointed-sounding album that has moments of brilliance and excitement. In a way, David Grubbs is a virtuosic guitar player of which he gives us little glimpses on this album. Perhaps he was just discovering that himself as he made these songs. After this, Brown and McEntire moved on to make history with Tortoise and Grubbs continued Gastr Del Sol as a two-piece with fellow experimentalist, Jim O’Rourke. The Serpentine Similar is not one of the greatest Squirrel Bait family recordings but it is an important mark on Grubbs’s growth chart nonetheless.

6.8/10

08-09-2009, 12:08 PM	#13 (permalink)
Engine air quote Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: pollen & mold Posts: 3,108	Gastr Del Sol - The Serpentine Similar (1993) Originally released by Teen Beat Reissued by Drag City Track list: 1. A Watery Kentucky 2. Easy Company 3. A Jar of Fat 4. Ursus Arctos Wonderfilis 5. Eye Street 6. For Soren Mueller 7. Serpentine Orbit 8. Even the Odd Orbit Lineup: David Grubbs – guitar, piano, vocals Bundy K. Brown – bass John McEntire – drums At some point David Grubbs decided that rock music was too limiting so he took his band mates from the final incarnation of Bastro and began Gastr Del Sol. The Serpentine Similar is their first release, and here he gets as experimental as he wants to be – which is apparently a lot. The first song, ‘A Watery Kentucky’, is a 9-minute ramble of meandering, slowly swinging guitar with a little bit of bass and some random-sounding percussion thrown in occasionally. It’s topped off with Grubbs mumbling in a sing-song fashion about nothing discernable. The final result sounds indulgent and perhaps a little abusive. Why did Gastr Del Sol use all this studio time and frontload their first album with this piece? It sounds more like a practice session or a loose jam. But, hey, it’s their album so let’s see where it goes. The whole thing is less than a half-hour long so we’re already done with a third of it. Grubbs pulls out his acoustic guitar for ‘Easy Complex’ and does some quick “jazzy” vocals over staccato strumming and scale runs (fans of Kayo Dot should take note). This one starts to remind me of old Pavement but at about one minute long it hardly has time to go anywhere. ‘A Jar of Fat’ is proof that Grubbs loves avant-garde jazz and probably would rather be doing that. Hey, maybe that’s what he thinks he is doing. That could explain a lot. He begins solo on the piano playing runs that conjure Thelonious Monk or Chick Corea although he was probably shooting more for Cecil Taylor. The scratchy feedback thrown in at the end reminds us that these guys are not seasoned jazzmen but simply college students with musical talent who want to create something new. Oh well, it’s still pretty good. ‘Ursus Arctos Wonderfilis’ is another 180 degree turn as Grubbs pulls out some of his guitar tricks. Grubbs has since become famous for his unique guitar compositions and style, and he has been performing and recording solo guitar for eager audiences since these early days. But here we just get a taste of the repetitive yet deeply textured, folky guitar work to come. Bundy dutifully follows around with his bass as Grubbs explores a bit of John Fahey and Leo Kottke territory. I wish the whole album was like this. ‘Eye Street’ is another piano piece. This time I think we can hear Vince Guaraldi and maybe this is the way that Schroeder will play if he grows up and becomes an intellectual. Maybe he’ll even top off his piano with some odd, non sequitur vocals like Grubbs does here. ‘For Soren Mueller’ finally gives McEntire something to do as Gastr Del Sol begins to work as a three-piece band. It’s still a lot of guitar noodling but they do open the throttle in bursts to let McEntire go wild with the rhythm for a few moments. ‘Serpentine Orbit’ features more vocals up front that may tell some kind of story. Grubbs also plunks out a few notes and chords on his guitar. Meh. The last track, ‘Even the Odd Orbit’, is another instrumental guitar track. This is early math rock. Grubbs keeps tight control over the complex timing that he uses. Songs like this make me forgive Grubbs for his experimental indulgences; he’s got skills and he should use them however he likes. Overall, The Serpentine Similar is a fairly disjointed-sounding album that has moments of brilliance and excitement. In a way, David Grubbs is a virtuosic guitar player of which he gives us little glimpses on this album. Perhaps he was just discovering that himself as he made these songs. After this, Brown and McEntire moved on to make history with Tortoise and Grubbs continued Gastr Del Sol as a two-piece with fellow experimentalist, Jim O’Rourke. The Serpentine Similar is not one of the greatest Squirrel Bait family recordings but it is an important mark on Grubbs’s growth chart nonetheless. 6.8/10