Like his buddy and bandmate Kurt Vile, Brooklyn singer-guitarist Steve Gunn seems beamed from a different time. He plays a worldly form of ancient blues. He sings with a little bit of vintage Mick Jagger on his tongue. He unravels stories with a level of patience and detail often lacking in contemporary music, be it of folksy origin or otherwise. And while most of us may only know the man for his work as a player in the Violators touring unit, he has a great deal to offer as an artist in his own right.
Take the nine-minute live studio recording of “Lurker” above. The clip opens with a flourish of beautiful strum, and the notes continue to tumble forth as the accompaniment kicks in. In the video, and on Gunn’s new album Time Off, he is joined by drummer John Truscinski and bassist Justin Tripp, and in both instances the players rush nothing. Our host leads us in a character study about the sort of folks who benevolently haunt neighborhoods — townies who hang out happily even if others see them as vagrants.
Time Off arrives via Paradise of Bachelors on June 18 and is available for pre-order now.
Steve Gunn, Time Off track list:
1. “Water Wheel”
2. “Lurker”
3. “Street Keeper”
4. “New Decline”
5. “Old Strange”
6. “Trailways Ramble”
