Gunn-Truscinski Duo - Sand City/Ocean Parkway

Brand new.  Sealed 2xLP.  

The best musical partners play as if there is a direct connection
between their brains. Steve Gunn (guitar) and John Truscinski
(drums) possess that certain ESP / telepathy / majick - whatever
*you* elect to call it. We've all heard folks whose operate on
these otherworldly levels - Sandy Bull and Billy Higgins, Brian
Eno and Robert Fripp, Alan Vega and Martin Rev, John
Coltrane and Rashied Ali - and know just how special it can be
when folks ascend to those sorts of rarefied heights. Over the
course of a few short years these men recorded two albums,
Sand City (2010) and Ocean Parkway (2012), that captured
their unique and private musical language. Originally released
as two separate smallish and now long out of print editions,
those two albums are now presented within a singular gatefold
package. Whether you are a recent convert to Gunn's lyric and
expressive guitar styling or an old-timer who has never
investigated this particular corner of his discography, there is a
lot to be rewarded by within the confines of both Sand City and
Ocean Parkway.
The first of the duo's two albums, Sand City, saw release
following a late winter conversation between Gunn and Three
Lobed Recordings on a bench in Tompkins Square park. Old
friends who had spent a lot of time playing together both in
public (including within the later incarnations of raga dronesters
GHQ) and private, Truscinski and Gunn were looking to lay
down some of their well-honed compositions in a studio setting.
Sand City is informally split into "electric" and "acoustic" sides,
both reflecting the duo's well fluid and expressive style. Ocean
Parkway followed quickly thereafter and features a collection of
electrifying material honed while the duo was on a 2011
European tour. Gunn’s playing across all of this material, while
always truly exploratory and aimed for the stars, takes on the
more expansive reach typically reserved for his live
performances when anchored by Truscinski’s textured and
expressive backbeat. These two albums, while recorded at
different times, share such a familiar tone that they seem and
feel as if they are two sides of the same coin. Paired together
Sand City and Ocean Parkway meld into a seamless listening
experience.