A Gilbert Play - s/t
(Dreamboat)
One could say fakejazz has fallen in love with Sweden after perfect ratings have been given to Swedish artists Tape, COH, Spacious Mind, and Soundtrack of Our Lives. However, one could just as easily say that Sweden has fallen in love with fake jazz. Excepting the last of those four and bringing in Mats Gustafsson, Pallin, and now A Gilbert Play, the post-rock and electro-acoustic scene of the Nordic corner of Europe seems to be outweighing (and outpeforming) Chicago, New York, and maybe any single corner of America. More so than any of the other Swedes, A Gilbert Play makes their fake jazz in the proto-Tortoise mold, however they reinvent it by using mostly analog and acoustic instruments to give the purely instrumental kraut-like progressions a glowing tone perfect for the long nights of the winter solstice. The band's self-titled debut packages these warm, soft tones in short three or four minute songs that get to the point quickly, follow it along for a few measures, and then give way to the next sound, melody, or idea. The brevity of the songs and centrality of each song's theme makes the music seem more like backing tracks to electronic pop (recent The Notwist, ten year old Stereolab) than the more academic or intellectual. "Nicko-Ticko Tinn Och Jag" is a slipstream, bringing a hummable bassline and enough twips and twerps to create a dense bed of sound. While most songs are short, pop, and to the point, there is enough change in tempo and mood to create a varied sound and help sustain interest through the album's 48 minutes. "Sunny Side of the Street" and "A Low Fly By" are downtempo. The former mixes heavily distorted guitar and vibes as jazz-style drumming and a rumbling bass give the song a solid backbone. "A Low Fly By" features lots of interesting noises as guitar tones bend and flex before a bright and gentle guitar melody caries the song. While A Gilbert Play adds little to the canon of post-rock and doesn't break any boundaries, their debut is still a varied and enjoyable listen, utilizing a diverse set of instruments and affecting them in interesting and unusual ways to create many interesting sounds. They could challenge the listener more, but their songs are memorable and enough ideas are presented that it never gets tedious.
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