Forget that adage about quality over quality; they are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Certainly not in the case of Bob Gaulke. Not only is his musical output numerously impressive, with albums appearing with a regularity not seen since the 60’s, but the contents are always exciting, entertaining, and thoroughly rewarding.
And that is certainly true with (detail), an album that seems to wander into some Talking Heads-infused territory, particularly the nods to soul, funk, and African rhythms that colored the Remain in Light period. Listen to tracks such as “Women of Earth,” and you could easily be forgiven for thinking that this was a song from those recordings or at least its spiritual descendant.
“Human Television” is spacious and groovesome, that space allowing the guitars, not least Hans Croon’s “better guitars,” to fire off finessed motifs that drift delicately through the heart of the song, somehow both understated yet unmissable.
And if David Byrne had his Brian Eno Bob has Shriekback to help guide his hand, or at least half of them, and Barry Andrews’ chiming piano and Martyn Barker’s steady but shifting drum patterns certainly make their presence felt on the album’s final track, “The Listener.”
(detail) reminds us just how essential a good bass line is. In a world of root-note thrashers and 12-bar bluesers, both Mr G’s deft grooves and Paulo LePetit’s “impossible bass” contributions are key to the mellifluous and meticulous sound of these songs.
It’s a gorgeous album, subtle, supple, and seductive. As the sun streams through the office window while I write these words, it feels like the perfect summer soundtrack – warm and welcoming music to play while the world around us shimmers and shines, and melts.
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