Comet Meta

Album review

The music of guitarist David Grubbs (formerly of Squirrel Bait and Gastr Del Sol) is dependent on intuition. It's often studious, somber, and unconcerned with conventional articulation. It's also deliberately difficult, attractive in its oddment and mystery. On Comet Meta, Grubbs continues the collaboration with Japanese soundtrack composer/guitarist Taku Unami that began with 2018's Failed Celestial Creatures. The duo spin improvised, spiderly string textures from "profoundly generative" situations and surroundings. Built on agility, and a constant flow of ideas, these stark explorations—where the importance of silence makes the duo a trio—exude a certain graceful beauty in the slow conversational give and take of the acoustic guitars in the title track (which also includes field recordings from crowds gathered for the New York City Marathon). In "Mirror Auction at Echo Décor," Grubbs plays measured acoustic piano over Unami's menacing low-toned electronic rumbles and cavernous resoundings. Grubbs taps bell-like chords before static distortion and deep droning appear from the background in "Heart of the Thrumming House." Guitars reemerge as the electronics cycle higher and finally come to a close—in all, a minimalist symphony of sorts. Recorded in Brooklyn and Tokyo, this quietly-charged dialogue between players who follow a similar muse closes with "Walking Corpse in an Old House," an homage to Unami's interest in horror and sci fi. Blending piano chords and more found recordings (NYC police car sirens, barking dog, a passing parade)—shifting moods and cryptic emotions are captured as art of the moment. © Robert Baird/Qobuz