Gunn-Truscinski Duo – Soundkeeper : Review

Soundkeeper is a 72-minute suite of swirling guitar, gentle and decided drums, a cascading sound odyssey. It’s instrumental, but far from ambient- engaging, pulsating, building tension that culminates in staggering climaxes, crashing and oscillating, waves of sound.

One song flows seamlessly into the next, only the sounds of cheers from the audience in the midst of “Pyramid Merchandise” rouses you from deep hypnosis to remind you that the sound is manufactured by humans, not elemental (only “Merchandise” and “Soundkeeper” are live – recorded at Union Pool).

“Valley Spiral” is a synesthete’s dream, throbbing, blooming. “Northwest” incorporates bottleneck guitar to tip the scales back to the acoustic side of things, while “Ocean City” is the cruising, assuaging coast after the uphill strides of the preceding tracks, liquid and languorous. Side B is the one I continue replaying repeatedly, something about it so scenic and satisfying.

Gunn-Truscinski Duo, made of two musicians of exquisite caliber in their own rite, are more than the sum of their parts. They’re binary stars sharing an unspoken language and allowing us to listen in. They continue to get tighter with each record. Soundkeeper feels more urgent and intricate than past releases – it doesn’t wander, it propels forward, intrepid and undulating with varying shades of feeling.

This is an album to get lost in – droning, echoing, rippling, a journey through the depths of your being, looming openness, towering skies, staggering white heat, burning sun, calm intensity. Steve Gunn said recently in a podcast interview that “important records encapsulate a feeling, an atmosphere.” This record does exactly that.

Soundkeeper is out October 9th on Three Lobed Recordings, the first of a series celebrating the label’s 20th anniversary. Buy Soundkeeper here.