It’s a bit strange, but no one likes anything that’s perfectly normal. Everyone wants something to be a bit strange, exciting, or even sexy. Like a boy living in the perfect suburbs and wishes he was a poor black kid so he could live a rough life and have
soul. But since that’s impossible he does the next best thing; do drugs and set stuff on fire. That’s basically what
Rickets & Scurvy is, a relatively normal, even bland album with short spurts of intriguing changes of music and pace. It feels as if the music itself is restless enough to burst out. This isn’t what I expected from David Grubbs, I read that he was in an experimental group called Gastr del Sol with alternative hotshot Jim O’Rourke. I also read that his music as a solo artist was very experimental with some post-rock. So naturally I was disappointed when I heard this album and found very little experimentalism or innovation. So, Sputnik comrades, let us boycott allmusic.com. They lied to me in another one of their short and measly reviews. But right now I should get on this review.
Rickets & Scurvy has a calm and adult contemporary feel. It’s driven by Grubbs’ complex, but calm guitar figures. His guitar playing is the best part of the album, but is held back on the quieter songs. It flourishes on the first two tracks, which begins slowly and in a contemplative manner like most of the other songs, but end in gloriously upbeat, guitar driven outros.
Transom and
Don’t Think have a relatively tame feel, but end in melodious and beautifully crafted instrumentals. The problem with those songs is the rest of the song is pretty boring and repetitive, I find myself just skipping to end of the songs for those great codas.
On the other side of the matter, other songs never take off, they simply remain in their docile mood. This works better for some songs like
The Nearer By and By, where Grubbs creates a great relaxing but not boring song, the chemistry between the guitars and piano making a great core. The other songs don’t succeed as well,
Pinned to the Spot gets to the point of annoying, with a feel that it’s an incredibly boring song trying to be interesting. It’s not all the song’s fault, Grubbs’ voice delivers captivating lyrics, but with a drab, plain voice. He rarely makes an effort on the album to truly carry melody or evoke strong emotions, like a depressed 40 year old singing Jeff Buckley at a karaoke bar.
The album flows pretty well, for the most part, this might be because half of the songs are more short instrumental interludes than songs. But
Rickets & Scurvy throws a curveball near the its end, including two consecutive tracks of electronic, machine-like noise. Is this supposed to be the experimental side of the album? It just sounds ridiculous, including a collections bleeps and electronic noodling on a tranquil, guitar and piano driven album. Overall
Ricket & Scurvy is nothing particularly special, besides the two opening tracks, it’s simply a pleasant listen with two awkward techno songs. I can assume David has done better, but from now on I’ll trust my ears on deciding that, not on those Allmusic nincompoops.
