Camoufleur

Gastr Del Sol | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 24, 1998)
• Original Release Date: February 24, 1998
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Drag City
• ASIN: B0000060MI
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #177,673 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Seasons Reverse

2. Blues Subtitled No Sense of Wonder

3. Black Horse

4. Each Dream Is an Example

5. Mouth Canyon

6. A Puff of Dew

7. Bauchredner

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Gastre consists primarily of Chicagoans Jim O'Rourke and former Squirrel Bait member David Grubbs. For the better part of the '90s, they've brought avant-garde concepts of experimental sound to a younger, ex-indie rock audience. Camofleur generally mined for experimental sounds, but this time they came from pop and folk. With echoes of Van Dyke Parks and John Fahey, Gastre shifted their focus from sound to arrangement, presenting tunes for the first time. Still, the music defied category, melding piano, acoustic guitar, strings, horns, tape noise, and deadpan da da lyrics into delicately abstract and melodic sound paintings. This is Art music at its most listenable, eluding your grasp rather than testing your patience. --Steve Tignor

Product Description

Gastr Del Sol combine country blues, avant garde, classical compostion, jazz, and pop into a blend that is utterly unique (and popular) in the marketplace today. Gastr Del Sol is the combined musical and compositional resource of Jim O'Rourke and David Grubbs. Camoufleur features the long awaited collaboration between O'Rourke, Grubbs, and Oval's Markus Popp. There is no doubt of their musical ability or desirability anywhere on Earth.

See all Editorial Reviews

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars better late than never, February 5, 2005

By 

leopold bloom "poldy" (the mighty palouse) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Camoufleur (Audio CD)

So, I found this used (in Chicago, of all places) in the summer of '01, and I thought I'd check it out, given the O'Rourke pedigree.

I listened to the first few tracks, found it pleasant enough, and filed it away. Then, a couple of years later, I pulled it out, put in the 5-disc shuffle, and went off to another part of the house to do some odds and ends. At some point, the final 2 minutes of "Bauchredner" came wafting through the house, and I thought I'd died and gone to musical heaven. Over a motorik-style Stereolabbish beat, there was a drum fill, then horns, then beautiful pedal-steel guitar...and it made me sit down and it made me smile. I then realized I'd never gotten to the end of the CD before. Oh, silly me. It was like finding a $100 bill while doing the laundry. It was like a sudden vista appearing during a monotonous drive. Unexpected, beautiful, and all the more beautiful being so unexpected. I'm not suggesting that the final two minutes of "Bauchredner" are worth buying the CD for, but that experience prompted me to reassess the entire disc, and it's since gone into regular and heavy rotation.

Let this be a lesson. If O'Rourke has anything to do with a project, listen to the entire damn thing.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Prog pop jazz skewedlyrics quiet, June 16, 2000

By 

Buzz Advert "buzzadvert" (Milwaukee) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Camoufleur (Audio CD)

I have read many reviews that call this an accesible albumorpoppy, or was it "Gastr del Sol at their pop best." Whilethat description may be sensible to one familar with the band, it's a little like talking about Can at their pop best. Yes, this album is more accesible than past efforts, but that doesn't mean a lot here. The exception is with the album's bouyant opener, "The Seasons Reverse." This masterpiece of a song should have been a huge hit (ok now I'm getting carried away, maybe in just parallel universe). After the Seasons Reverse the album is a much more subdued, jazzy, minimalist affair but always solid.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars this is one of the best., April 20, 1999

By 

Doomsday (Vancouver) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Camoufleur (Audio CD)

Ok, i must admit, i first heard Gastr in an mp3 file. I was blown away. I went right out that day and bought "Upgrade & Afterlife". Although i thought it was very good, it is definately not for everyone. Then a few days later i came here and ordered "Camofluer". And now i must say, "This IS for everyone". This is one of the most amazing recorded albums i've ever heard. This, along with "Bark Psychosis" - HEX, could be the only CD's i'd ever own and i'd still be musically satisfied. It's funny. All these record companies are freaking out over mp3's, but think, if it wasn't for mp3's, i never would have heard Gastr, let alone purchased two of their albums in one week. Do yourself a favor, buy this album.