Steve Gunn – “Slow Singers On The Hill”

Eschewing his singer-songwriter side, Steve Gunn returns to the enclave at Three Lobed for an album that indulges his instrumental impulses. As much as Matador has become a haven for his hooks, the North Carolina label has been a hideaway from the pop persona of his songwriting, most notably with John Truscinski by his side. On a new solo endeavor, Gunn delves into the atmospheres and ambience of his work, creating an album that’s more about texture than any he’s worked on in the last few years. It’s noted in the liners, but it strikes me, this is the first solo instrumental album from Gunn. Often there’s a foil at play, if not Truscinsk, it’s David Moore, Ryley Walker, or Mike Gangloff. But here, recorded in moments of quietude across Brooklyn, Berlin, and Latvia, the album blends meditative phrasing with the hushed ambience of existing alone. Sometimes those moments are few, and certainly relished when found, and here Gunn helps us see that solitude through his eyes and feel it through his strings. The new record, Music For Writers, is out August 15th from Three Lobed.

Support the artist. Buy it HERE.