Guess at the Riddle [Import]

Product Description
Japanese Release featuring a Bonus Track

Guess at the Riddle,David Grubbs,Pony Canyon,Rock,Rock/Pop

Average customer rating: exploratory work

Guess at the Riddle David Grubbs Manufacturer: Drag City ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Indie Rock | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Experimental Rock | Rock | Alternative Styles | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Experimental Music | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music ASIN: B00029LNGY Release Date: 2004-06-22

Tracks:

1. Knight Errant
2. A Cold Apple
3. Wave Generators
4. Magnificence As Such
5. The Neophyte
6. Rosie Ruiz
7. You'll Never Tame Me
8. Your Neck In The Woods
9. One Way Out Of The Maze
10. Pangolin
11. Hurricane Season
12. Cosa (Breathing)

Customer Reviews:

exploratory work.......2005-01-20

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.

Average customer rating:

Guess at the Riddle David Grubbs Manufacturer: Pony Canyon ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Indie Rock | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Experimental Rock | Rock | Alternative Styles | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Experimental Music | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music Rock | Imports | Stores | Music ASIN: B0001N1O7O Release Date: 2004-05-31

Tracks:

1. Knight Errant
2. Cold Apple
3. Wave Generators
4. Magnificence As Such
5. Neophyte
6. Rosie Ruiz
7. You'll Never Tame Me
8. Your Neck In The Woods
9. One Way Out Of The Maze
10. Pangolin
11. Hurricane Season
12. Coda
13. Aging Young Lovers

Album Details

Japanese Release featuring a Bonus Track

Rock Music:

1. Hang on to a Dream
2. Here Comes The Fun
3. Here Come the Small Faces
4. Hits of the Sixties [Import]
5. Hold on Tight [Import]
6. Hunger Pt.1 [CD-single] [Import]
7. Juice Box [CD-single] [Import]
8. Kerrang! High Voltage [Explicit Lyrics] [Import]
9. Let the Days Go By/Sunny Side of the Street
10. Lions and Tigers and Bears [Import]

Rock Music