C. Gibbs – Against Frail Beats on a Teetering Limb
Opening with “What The Doctor Says,” it suggests a new Prince track with the Purple One singing with San Diego’s C. Gibbs while Gibbs adds his brand of rock & determined vocals to a vibrant piece of work. Clever. It works nicely. Gibbs is a reliable artist I’m familiar with & through 16 albums he’s delivered originality & gusto wrapped in fine musicianship.
10 diversified songs go Against Frail Beats on a Teetering Limb (Drops July 10/Eastern Spurs/37:32) produced by Jon Wubbens in studios in California. The work may traverse psychedelic folk, chamber pop, cinematic soul, post-punk & of course, Americana. It isn’t a jambalaya of unfocused music. C. Gibbs (guitars/vocals/keys) is sharp, focused, with layered guitars, tight grooves & storytelling. His themes can be challenging when he explores grief, cults, broken systems, or fleeting moments.
Catchy guitar work & tasty percussion dominate “Gunshy.” The vocals are meshed with Gibbs’ deep tone set against gnarly aggressive guitars & atmosphere. The typical Gibbs recipe for tugging one’s ear. The take-off can be jarring, but it’s part of the scenario & a great finale. It’s material not entirely from the map following his vivid “29 Over Me.” There are mindful tunes that prove the art is painted by the same artist; the colors are there, the brush strokes, & attitude. I hear it with “Let’s Not Fight & Say We Did.”
Gibbs does possess a signature voice, which is important to a musician who wants his material to be a few steps out of the mainstream line & commercial sameness glut. The Gibbs approach is always tight, with lots of jabs on target. If there are no blistering guitar riffs, there are pounding beats. Gibbs is a good purveyor of unquestionable torque in his compositions. Maybe he lacks controversy; it wasn’t until Randy Newman did “Short People” that eyebrows went up to their foreheads.
What’s admirable is that even the slow-burn tunes like “Forty Days Till Sunday” have that first album’s charm. Style over substance, though the lyrics unwind nicely on this one. The background singers on “Valley of Trees” are soulful & with C. Gibbs’ best vocal. The signature C. Gibbs music surfaces with all its patina in place.
Highlights – “What The Doctor Says,” “Gunshy,” “Let’s Not Fight & Say We Did,” “Forty Days Till Sunday,” “Heavy Metal Free,” “Matterhorn Rise” & “Valley of Trees.”
Musicians – Jules Stewart (drums), Joshua Mooers (bass) with Isaiah Mitchell (add’l guitar), Frank Heer (cello), John Nau (Hammond B3), Megan Mattix & Shelbi Bennett (bgv) & Alex Bergan (vocals/bgv).
Color image courtesy of the C. Gibbs website photo gallery CD @ Bandcamp & Apple + https://cgibbsreview.com/cb/full-bio/about/