Will Schube is incognito and taking it easy
There are few feelings greater than listening to a guitar player who simply owns his instrument. It’s an elusive skill—a combination of mastery, swagger, and that ever frustrating descriptor—feel. Steve Gunn, most well-known for backing up Kurt Vile, who has moved into the territory of bonafide solo artist, seems to be in the company of the aforementioned “owners.” His sound his hard to describe, but the way he performs seems to conjure up adjectives similar to the ones your dad probably uses to describe his favorite guitar players. There’s an ever-present aura within Gunn’s music, an assuredness that he knows what he’s doing, and we should simply take the time to listen.
The best song on Gunn’s last release, Time Off, is called “Water Wheel” and is a perfect sample of what Gunn’s all about. “Water Wheel” takes those two words and melds them together—creating something circular in structure, flowing and forthright—while resisting the typical monotony often associated with a song cycle. Gunn’s style picks and chooses from various corners of Americana, grab-bagging from the likes of traditional folk music, psychedelia, and the pop-leaning, Band-esque tradition. Gunn’s latest single, “Milly’s Garden,” also recalls some of the Band’s less structured compositions. Beginning with an organ and that swaggering guitar he’s so good at capturing, “Milly’s Garden” is the sort of track that’s perfect for a stormy summer afternoon—both aggressively biting and comforting. Gunn’s voice is deep and assured, his slide guitar soaring into the track’s atmosphere. As Gunn sings, “Your faith is savage/and your mind is damaged/you’re more than half way there”.
