The Breakdown
US Guitarist, multi-instrumentalist and producer Gitkin (aka Brian J) is a player who’s long been connecting Duane Eddy’s original twang and a world of other styles from Peruvian Cumbia to Saharan rock, Delta blues to New Orleans funk. Whether as co-ordinator of the indie meets soul collective Pimps of Joytime or collaborator with both Cyril Neville and RL’s grandson Cedric Burnside (check out his gritty Benton County Relic LP), Gitkin’s musical expedition has been relentless and restless. Then around 2018 he decided to dive into solo work, focus on an instrumental approach rather songs and in his words “explore tonalities I’d never messed with”.
Enter the debut Gitkin album ‘5 Star Motel’, a rootsy funk and surf guitar drama followed by 2020’s wide ranging ‘Safe Passage’, where he began to wire in more exotic global influences. Four years on, the time is right for another update from this dedicated sound-seeker in the shape of the resplendent ‘Golden Age’, delivered via Wonderwheel Recordings. It’s an album which marks the culmination of a period when Gitkin decided to shake things up. He moved his whole studio operation plus truck-full of instruments from his familiar Brooklyn foundations to New Orleans and as a result this new record has the Big-Easy’s complex flavouring simmering through it.
On ‘Golden Age’ Gitkin may be working through a wider range of combinations to keep you on the move but thankfully though the twang is still a touchstone . Opener High Noon wraps a Morricone mood in a breezy ethio-skank with Gitkin’s fulsome guitar lines trilling out the tune and bending those tremelo chords. In a slight diversion Tall Oaks Drive goes for the Heist- mystery movie sound, its Pulp Fiction path veering off to Khartoum as the keys ring psychedelically and Gitkin’s lead discovers a wired, sitary tone. But perhaps the finest moment on the album for what Brian J calls his “home on the range” sonics arrives with Ninth Ward Grind. Kicking off with some brilliantly slouchy percussion, Gitkin’s low strung patterns echo generously, lovingly paired up with a reedy organ which teases out the counter melody. There are whoops, squawks and shouts to add to the scene, leaving you to imagine the tumbleweeds.
With each of its ten tracks around the three minute or less mark calling an album ‘Golden Age’ perhaps nods towards that classic pop music benchmark. Every tune here gets straight to the point, motors through, then shifts aside and Gitkin, in true jukebox style, has a knack of just keeping the songs coming. Early on in the set there’s the upbeat Cumbia-ya, where the funky riff somehow shimmies naturally into a quirky chicha skip. That’s soon followed by the romping funk shuffle of Go Time. Here Gitkin’s fluid breaks, Washington Dukes’ sharp beats and those swirling organ fills from Simon Moushabeck, hit a Delvon Lamarr intensity. Even more strident is The One, a cut which comes packed with chunky disco-bar energy from the Zam-rock power-chord intro to the swinging blues rock meets ethio-jazz blowout.
Talking about the album Gitkin has said “As a rule, I try to think as little as possible when making albums. I approach each track with a sense of adventure, making musical and sonic choices on instinct”. His radar is obviously well tuned because within all the locomotion there are downtempo surprises like Delta Mystic. You don’t too often catch a Gris Gris/ Dr John spell merging with spidery Onyeabor synth tones and cooing sixties soundtrack vocals in the same song but Gitkin can make it happen and make it work. Iced Coffee appropriately chills things out, a slow dance marked out by a rhythm box tick, dubby keys and guitar flourishes while the crackling authentic soul smooch of El Gran Camino nudges towards hip-hop.
So ‘Golden Age’ clearly looks back to different times but with Gitkin at the controls this is no retro exercise, fresh ground gets broken and new sounds appear. The closing title track, featuring fellow producer Assaf Spector, highlights this inventiveness alongside Gitkin’s well-established commitment to groove. An expansive blues march, with layers of vocal and orchestration, the tune has a sweeping cinematic feel and maybe hints at a future direction. For now though Gitkin has delivered another album that captures his dedication to spontaneity, guided by a fundamental principle he sums up as “If I wake up with a groove in my head or a melody idea, I just go into the studio and record it”. So take note, don’t overthink it, put the needle of the record, play that ‘hully gully’ music and get moving.
Get your copy of ‘Golden Age‘ by Gitkin from your local record store or direct from Wonderwheel Recordings HERE
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