David Grubbs
The Thicket

Who has played in Squirrel Bait, Bastro, Bitch Magnet, Gastr Del Sol? Who boasts a thirty-year career made up of dozens of collaborations? Who teaches composition at the Art Institute Of Chicago? Simple: David Grubbs. The guitarist/multi-instrumentalist from Louisville, who started from the fervor of hardcore and transitioned to a typically post-rock vision, now seems to have arrived at a more intimate music, which has found a place in the long and happy trail of his solo work.

"The Thicket" is the second release under the name David Grubbs, published in 1998 by Drag City Records.

This work is characterized by a clear bipolarism. Country music and small jazz ensembles on one side, avant-garde music, the passion for sound in itself, on the other. Our Maestro's skill is first and foremost evident in the composition phase. Compared to musicians with a similar artistic background, Grubbs tackles melody without any restraint, thus showing great artistic maturity; the results are never trivial, creating splendid songs that alternate reflective moments with more lively ones, in a highly dynamic alternation that will hardly bore the listener.

Another strong point of the album is the arrangements, very rich and imaginative. Banjo, trumpet, and violin are just some of the instruments used during the recording, even if the final dress of the tracks is sober, well-calibrated, and never pompous. This, as well as the overall value and beauty of this work, is mainly due to the participation of an extraordinary combo of musicians. The Louisville maestro calls upon some of the most talented artists in the "alternative" music scene, very heterogeneous in terms of age and artistic background; musicians who, beyond being virtuosos of their instruments, have learned to appreciate the value of pause, silence, a moment that is not antagonistic to sound, which enhances and sanctions the beauty and the essentiality of the played part itself. It's impossible not to mention John McEntire on drums and the legendary Tony Conrad on violin. The individual compositions are, therefore, brilliant and light, far from the narcissistic residues of some post artists.

The real added value of the work, finally, lies in the balancing act between genres achieved by our guitarist. Although we initially emphasized a pronounced musical dichotomy, the same does not paradoxically mar the homogeneity of the album. Grubbs manages to reconcile seemingly irreconcilable elements with great skill, giving us an overall vision of the work that enchants and is both accessible and complex, such that it offers something new with each, further, listening.

For the aforementioned elements, "The Thicket" results in a true masterpiece, to be savored in every element with the due dose of patience. It is, moreover, an excellent starting point should you wish to approach David Grubbs' discography, precisely because it is characterized by an alchemy of His musical passions that you will hardly find in other, albeit valid, works.