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Not just outside the box, but denying the existence of boxes.
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Reviews

Gentleman Surfer — Gold Man
((Not on label) no#, 2015, CD)

by Jon Davis, Published 2015-10-06

Gold Man Cover art

The laws of supply and demand tell us that as the supply of something increases, its value tends to go down unless the demand also increases. I suppose the demand per person of music would be pretty much constant (there are only so many hours in the day to listen), so the only increase in demand for music that ever happens is due to increasing population. But more music is produced every year, and nearly all the music that’s ever been recorded is still available (with more old things reissued every year), so the supply continues to increase. This would tend to indicate that the value of music would be tending towards zero, which is one way of looking at why many people don’t pay for music anymore. But the thing about music is that it’s not all the same – songs are not interchangeable. Not only that, but everyone has different taste. So the supply of music any given person is interested in might not be approaching infinity. All of which leads us to the importance of finding really good music and judging it worthy of purchase. If you’re reading this, presumably you’re looking for music that’s worth your time (and even money), and you’ve found the writing on this website of value to you in that search. I’m here to tell you right now that Gentleman Surfer is worth your time and money. Their music is catchy and engaging, complex but not difficult to enjoy, and varied enough to not get tiresome. It’s mostly instrumental, with drummer Jon Bafus at the helm, ably assisted by guitar (Barry McDaniel Swars), bass (Drew Walker), and synths (Zack Bissel). They have the knack of making music that works on multiple levels. A casual listener could probably even dance to it, but it’s rewarding on other levels as well, from the creativity of the compositions on a visceral level as performance to music-geek analysis involving layered patterns and overlapping rhythms. And lest it all seem too planned, there are moments of twiddly noisemaking as well. Gentleman Surfer are working their way towards the pantheon of post-70s avant-rock worthies: 5uu’s, Cheer-Accident, and the rest. This band just keeps getting better – I’m scared of what they might do next.

Filed under: New releases, 2015 releases

Related artist(s): Gentleman Surfer

More info
http://gentlemansurfer.bandcamp.com

 

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