[…continued from last post]

Bob Gaulke: (S)words – US – CD-R [2025]

1. Our Tiny Struggle 2:32
2. Yoga 2:25
3. Tight 3:38
4. The Plastic Saint At Home Doesn’t Do Miracles 2:33
5. Midnight Anthropology 4:00
6. Sensation To Sensation 2:40
7. Spinning Beast 3:09
8. Please Rise 2:48

“Our Tiny Struggle” began with the emphatic piano rhythm courtesy of Mr. Barry Andrews boring a hole in our brain that wouldn’t let go as Gil Olivera on the drums danced around the piano with Jazzy aplomb. The rhythm guitar filled out the melodic rondo as we were caught up in Bob’s vocal performance as his laidback vocal style was delivered, as ever, with Beatnik reserve. The fulsome guitar solo that Hans Croon contributed to the middle eight helped to make this musical blossom open even fuller. When it all began to fade only 2:15 into it I have to say that I was feeling cheated! I would have loved to have had this song last twice as long as its 2:30 length; easily.

The shuffling drums of “Yoga” found Bob emoting in his lower register once more. I loved how Paulo LePetit’s bass sounded as if it had been played through a Mu-Tron pedal, one of my favorite effects – until the envelope sounded like ducks quacking and bubbles popping! Adding the funky low end we love. I never hear enough of that sort of thing! Meanwhile, the string patches with glockenspeil added the high end here as Bob reviewed a relationship through the lens of the titular practice.

“reaching for the sky
one hand on your thigh

want to get inside
that look in your eyes

one-legged tree
all I need

is carved initials
in your life”

Yoga

The finely etched synths, used almost percussively in “Tight” played into the song like raindrops. The drums danced persuasively in the verses and on the chorus the big guitars and Rock drums came into the spotlight only to retreat and leave room for the piano on the next verse. With an aggressive wrap up here complete with clavinet climax leading up to the final guitar chords that eventually ground to a complete halt.

The barroom Jazz of “The Plastic Saint At Home Doesn’t Do Miracles” was another compelling pas de deux between the drums and peripatetic piano. Bob channeled Beat poetry on the lyric as the backing vocalists, Peri Mason and Vivian Benford, added their refrains here to gently tug at the heart. Then when the heavy tremolo guitar of Hans Croon [credited here, again, with “better guitars”] began to careen through the song as it lost its reserve entirely to revel in the fire that he brought to the enterprise.

I absolutely loved the playfully frisky “Midnight Anthropology!” As much as the opening “Our Tiny Struggle” was near and dear to my heart, this one was the big hit single that Bob had held back for the right moment to deliver. The chorus here had full earworm status as his engagingly loose delivery was perfectly abetted by the rhythms and rolling piano that the players brought to the equation. And at a Prog-like [for him] 4:00 in length, it was given plenty of room to take flight.

“Sensation To Sensation” was another big winner with languid, long sustain guitar by Hans Croon cutting through the alleyways of the heart. Coupled with Bob’s dry, disaffected delivery the net result touched down not a million miles away from a Leonard Cohen vibe.

“From sensation to sensation
Monkey bars to robot cars
No signs of hesitation
Feeling good no matter the cost”

Sensation To Sensation

The kinetically charged “Spinning Beast” was all about the nearly African rhythm guitar and adroit drumming of Gil Olivera. By the time that this dervish of a song wrapped up one can almost imagine the smoking guitar strings. The concluding “Please Rise” was ultimately down to the sustained guitar and string patch synths that allowed this zesty album to end on a suitably benedictive note.

Bob says that he begins each of his songs as poems and it shows in the sturdiness of his verse bereft of music to support it. It’s entirely successful as poetry alone, but the kicker is that he then composes music that delights the ear as well as the words delight the mind. That he enlists such a talented group to flesh these songs out is a small justice in this fallen world.

We must think of “(S)words” as the bolder half of this duo of albums formed with the more reflective “(detail)” as discussed yesterday. The joy is that at eight songs each and between 24-28 minutes in length, each album rewards immediate replay as these songs get programmed into the Mental Walkman® with ease. As with “(detail),” the DL for “(S)words” is $7.00 in Bandcamp with a full CD-R at $10. DJ hit that button!

But we’re not done yet. Join us for act III of this play next time.

Next: …Difficult Times Indeed