Whistle From Above (Vinyl)

Whistle from Above is David Grubbs’ first Drag City release in over a decade and his first-ever instrumental album for the label—and why shouldn’t it be? The suspiciously youthful Grubbs is four decades into his career, with former bands including Gastr del Sol, Squirrel Bait, and Bastro, along with a wild ride of collaborators including Bitch Magnet, Richard Buckner, Codeine, Tony Conrad, The Red Krayola, Royal Trux, Dirty Three, Edith Frost, Mats Gustafsson, Susan Howe, Will Oldham, Stefano Pilia, Taku Unami, The Underflow, Ryley Walker, Jan St. Werner, and The Wingdale Community Singers.

Whistle from Above is a colourful, compulsive set of instrumental pieces in which David and his chosen collaborators interact amid the steady roll of an expansive landscape based in the hypnosis of David’s immediately recognizable guitar style. Throughout the album, the listener may recall some places visited over the years, but will find them—as David and his traveling companions have as well—changed again, reactivated in a new light.

Track List:

SIDE A

1. Whistle from Above
2. The Snake on Its Tail
3. Hung in the Sky of the Mind
4. Scapegrace

SIDE B

1. Poem Arrives Distorted
2. Later in the Tapestry Room
3. Queen’s Side Eye
4. Synchro Fade Pluck Stutter Slip