DAVID GRUBBS – Whistle From Above – LP – Vinyl [FEB 28]

LP – Standard Edition Black Vinyl.

Dont look up! Whistle from Above is David Grubbs first Drag City release in over a decade and his first-ever instrumental album for the labeland why shouldnt it be? The suspiciously youthful Grubbs is four decades into his career, with former bands including Gastr del Sol, Squirrel Bait, and Bastro, along with a wild ride of collaborators including Bitch Magnet, Richard Buckner, Codeine, Tony Conrad, The Red Krayola, Royal Trux, Dirty Three, Edith Frost, Mats Gustafsson, Susan Howe, Will Oldham, Stefano Pilia, Taku Unami, The Underflow, Ryley Walker, Jan St. Werner, and The Wingdale Community Singers. If all that doesnt imply Trying something different, what ever will?

Weve savoured Davids singular guitar tone on solo and collaborative releases alike on many other distinguished labelswhy shouldnt we have one for ourselves?

Whistle from Above is the first solo collection David has released since 2017s Creep Mission. During the 2020 shutdown, David played what he precisely quantified as a shit-ton of guitar, more than he could recall playing ever previously. Reinvigorated by this period of enforced woodshedding, he produced a series of new pieces, mostly for guitar, but also a piano composition and an exceptionally eerie bit of musique concrte. These seemed to imply a solo set that would tour marvellously when the time was right again.

Meanwhile, David was reconnecting with the Gastr del Sol archive, as a new collection of old performances was being prepared from extensive archival material. The duo magic of that storied collaboration (released in 2024 as We Have Dozens of Titles) left David hungry to play in this format againas he had recently with Loren Connors, Alan Courtis, Manuel Mota, and Liam Keenan. These duo experiences showed David the path forward to complete this new solomaterial. Thus he sought out collaborations with folks hes called some of the musicians whom I adore most on the planetRodri Davies, Andrea Belfi, Nikos Veliotis, Nate Wooley, and Cleek Schreyand their stunning contributions flesh out Grubbs innate, deeply person brand of minimalism.

Whistle from Above is a colourful, compulsive set of instrumental pieces in which David and his chosen collaborators interact amid the steady roll of an expansive landscape based in the hypnosis of Davids immediately recognizable guitar style. Throughout the album, the listener may recall some places visited over the years, but will find themas David and his traveling companions have as wellchanged again, reactivated in a new light.

Tracklist:

Side A
1. Whistle from Above
2. The Snake on Its Tail
3. Hung in the Sky of the Mind
4. Scapegrace

Side B
1. Poem Arrives Distorted
2. Later in the Tapestry Room
3. Queens Side Eye
4. Synchro Fade Pluck Stutter Slip