"GASTR DEL SOL schätze ich persönlich als eine der massgebenden Formationen der 90er, Crookt, Crackt, Or Fly, Mirror Repair, The Harp Factory On Lake Street, Upgrade & Afterlife und Camoufleur aus den Jahren 1993-98 als Demonstration dafür, wie man musikalische Stile und Kräfte bündelt. Das unglückliche Etikett 'Postrock' wirkt hierfür schlicht doof. Für mich waren und sind das Versuche musikalischer Synergie. Die nun wiederveröffentlichte 7" Twenty Songs Less (MIN20), ursprünglich 1993 bei Teen Beat erschienen, führt zurück in die Zeit zwischen dem Debut The Serpentine Similar und Crookt, Crackt, Or Fly. Bundy K. Brown und John McEntire waren noch, Jim O'Rourke soeben neu an der Seite von David Grubbs zu finden. Dessen akustische Gitarre und McEntires Drums bestimmten das minimalistische, transparente Klangbild, Fieldrecordings von einem Kinderspielplatz verraten die Handschrift von O'Rourke. Wenn das Bild zu verblassen und zu schwinden droht, streut Grubbs einige Pianonoten ein und die Gitarre akzentuiert noch einmal die Lebensfreude der lachenden Kinder mit seltsam zärtlichen Zupfern. Die ?andere? Version variiert in miniaturisierter Form dieses elektroakustische Rezept, das noch nicht die künftige fusionäre Komplexität der Band ahnen liess - die Auftritte von NowJazzern und Avantelektronikern, von Jeb Bishop, Gene Coleman, Gustafsson, Mazurek und Vandermark, von Tony Conrad, Günter Müller oder RLW. Sehr wohl aber die Entschlossenheit und geistige Beweglichkeit, unpuristisch mit Material zu spielen. O'Rourkes integrationslustiger Postmodernismus ging da für eine Weile völlig d'accord mit Grubbs Streben nach einer Metaebene und einer empathischen Abgeklärtheit, die ihn heute so sensibel über Musik auch schreiben lässt. Musikalischer Intellektualismus wurde für einen kurzen Moment a sexy thing mit Brille. Bis die Lieber-ewig-Tom-Jones-als-das-hier-Fraktion gnadenlos durchblicken ließ, dass bebrillte Nerds in POP! nichts zu suchen haben und sich gefälligst anderswo einen runterholen sollen."

"The days of the David Grubbs/Jim O'Rourke partnership seem a long way off now. That said, the strength and outright punch of their duo recordings remains resolute in this latest 7" re-issue from Minority. It's a short journey, one filled with frenzies of restrained activity and that unique ability of these players to create a sense of distended time and space. Easily one of the great indie-rock partnerships of the 20th century summed up in one slab of clear vinyl."

"Back in the day I was a big fan of Gastr Del Sol, the modus operandi of Jim O'Rourke and David Grubbs. For reasons that were never clear to me (admitting right away I don't read music press), the collaboration stopped and for long we believed that was it. 'Twenty Songs Less' has a long text, but nothing about the 7" itself. It lists Jim and David but also Bundy K. Brown and John McEntire as the bandmembers, but that is hardly unusual. The latter two were in Gastr Del Sol in its first incarnation, while Jim was in the second. But still nothing about this 7" with two pieces. Left on the cutting room floor? Newly recorded (that I don't believe). One side has a hectic piece of drums, people crying, guitar strumming and has quite an improvised feel to it. The second side is a more intimate played piece, revolving around an acoustic guitar which is quite to the foreground, but disappears in some tape treatment. This piece is the best of these two. Quite a mysterious record this one, but quite nice also."

"Gastr del Sol has a 7"EP, Twenty Songs less, out on plucky little Czech label Minority Records (MIN20). It's Jim O'Rourke on the three E's (electronics. engineering and editing), John McEntire on drums, Bundy K. Brown on acoustic bass, and David Grubbs on guitar and piano. A re-release of the 1994 TeenBeat 7", it's a playful meander of free improv, a lost refugee from the dire dawn of nuuu-metal; yea verily, at one point on one side there is the sound of playground children. They haven't had an album out since 1998's Camoufleur and we're all the more bereft of this lapse. It's on sparkling clear vinyl, likely you'd never find it in the shops near you - but you take where you can get it. It'll make you think of a beautiful girl you saw on the beach for about a five minutes in your thirteenth summer. Remember her? It's like that."

"Es geht in der Musik dankbarerweise selten um Vernunft, sonst durfte man diese 7" mit gerade mail einen paar Minuten Musik, die keineswegs die Bndbreite und Qualitat von Gastr Del Sol widerspiegeln, niemandem empfehlen. Aber immerhin handelt es sich hier um eine der einzigartisten Bands uberhaupt - hier noch dazu mit den Musikern Jim O'Rourke, John McEntire, Bundy K. Brwon und David Grubbs - und zum anderen um eine liebevoll gestaltete Wiederveroffentlichung als 7". Fans der Band greifen also bitte sofort zu und aller anderen nehmen dies zum Anlass, sich den Backkatalog zu besorgen. Gastr del Sol kaufen! 9/10"

"Auf 1000 Stuck limitierte Wiederauflage einer 1993 bei Teen Beat erschienenen 7" von GASTR DEL SOL, so einer Art fruhen Lousville/Chicago-Indie-Supergroup, auf dieser Platte aus David Grubbs (Squirrel Bait, Slint, Bastro), Jim O'Rourke (mittlerweile Mitglieb bei Sonic Youth), Bundy K. Brown (Bastro, Seam, Tortoise) und John McEntire (Bastro, Tortoise) bestehend. GASTR DEL SOL haben abgesehen von ihrer noch konventionelleren, noiserockigeren Debut-Platte "The Serpentine Similar" nie wirklich einfache Musik gemacht, diese beiden relativ kurzen Improvisationstucke durften allerdings zum avantgardistichen in ihren gesamten Karriere gehoren. Eine abstrakte postmoderne Klangcollage mit Samples und allerlei elektronisch verfremdeten Sounds, die keinerlei Ruckschlusse auf den eigentlichen Background der beteiligten Musiker mehr zulasst. Eine wirkliche Bewertung fallt dementsprechend schwer, das Ganze ist nicht vollig unanhorbar und irgendwie auch faszinierend, durfte aber vor allem fur Fans der band las eine Art "missing link" interessant sein. Ansonsten vermittelt die ein Jahr spatter entstandene Platte "Crookt, Crackt or Fly" einen besseren Eindruck von den tatsachlichen Qualitaten dieser ungewohnlichen Band."

"Given the bad blood that circulated following this group's demise in 1998, it's surprising to see material still flowing out of Gastr Del Sol's wounds. But it's difficult to resist the fascination their msuic continues to exert. Ostensibly a collaboration between Jim O'Rourke and David Grubbs (John McEntire and Bundy K. Brown seem to have kept their attention focused elsewhere), this quartet blended electronics and acoustics in new ways, creating a template that would be followed by people like the resurgent John Fahey, Hrvatski and many others. This is a reissue of an old Teenbeat single, but it has not dated in the least, and represents as brilliant a distilation of Gastr Del Sol's essence as you're likely to find."

"Gastr Del Sol are one of the most crucial bands of the last 15 years; the combined talents of Bundy K. Brown and John McEntire from Tortoise along with David Grubbs and the Godlike Jim O'Rourke produced something truly magical. Originally released back in 1994 this 7" is one of the band's most sought-after items and collects two groundbreaking sessions which sees all the musicians at the top of their game. McEntire's drumming sounds better than ever and the production is unexpected and groundbreaking - even now. When the acoustic guitar drops away and gives way to abstract sound and noise it still has the power to stun the listener into silence, and that's no mean feat. Grab a copy before they disappear again forever..."

"Met de reünieconcerten in de AB en Paradiso in het verschiet zal de mythe rond Slint weer helemaal herleven. Het Tsjechische Minority Records legt even de vinger aan de pols en herinnert ons eraan dat er zich in de loop van de jaren tachtig in de buurt van Kentucky en Chicago nog interessante muzikale ontwikkelingen afspelen. Gastr Del Sol groeit voort uit Bastro. Deze band gaat terug op Squirrel Bait, waaruit eveneens Slint voortkomt. Drijvende kracht David Grubbs laat zich omringen door Bundy K. Brown en John McEntire en gaat inventief aan de slag met post-rock, musique concr?te, jazz en avant-gardecomposities. Na hun debuut The Serpentine Similar uit 1993 vervoegt Jim O'Rourke het drietal en een jaar later verlaten Brown en McEntire de band om het eveneens invloedrijke Tortoise op te richten. Er is maar één getuigenis overgeleverd uit de periode dat de vier grootheden deel uitmaakten van Gastr Del Sol en dat maakt Twenty Songs Less nu net zo speciaal. De originele singel is een gegeerd item voor verzamelaars maar al lang niet meer te krijgen. Dankzij Minority Records kan je nu even terug horen hoe de invloed van Gastr Del Sol zich doorheen de jaren gemanifesteerd heeft. Twenty Songs Less is een abstract meesterwerkje. McEntires inventieve drums worden vakkundig met abstracte klanken afgewisseld, terwijl stilte en lichte ruis eveneens in de mix worden gegooid. Nu klinkt het misschien wat alledaags maar twintig jaar geleden was dit je reinste geluidskunst. Hulde aan de meesters."

"Reissue of Gastr del Sol's farewell early '90s recording for Teenbeat, before they began a sharp ascent into avant-garde quality with their Drag City material. A transitional release then and now, the two nameless sides toy with broken-beat/musique concrete notions that would later become commonplace all throughout electronic music, cut-up percussion and field recordings amidst avid acoustic strum. Assisted by Bundy Brown and John McEntire, the duo of Grubbs and O'Rourke close in on some brief but noteworthy ideas here, intellectualizing Swell Maps' early home recordings with bespectacled seriousness. Not quite certain that we're far enough away from the times to look back at this music with anything more than nostalgia on our minds, but here's a repress anyway, edition of 500 on clear vinyl in a transparent sleeve. Will give you pause, if nothing more."

"Here's a band we haven't heard from in ages, and to be honest, one we honestly thought we might not ever hear from again. O'Rourke is in Sonic Youth, Grubbs has his own stuff going on, but back in the day, Gastr Del Sol were a post rock beast. Born of the mighty Bastro, they took that muscled math rock and twisted it all up into something much artier and more avant garde, and we LOVED it. Heck, we still do. So it's awesome to hear this blast from the past. Not actually a new record, this is a fancy new reissue of a long out of print 7", and boy it sounds as good as ever. Beginning with a blast of old skool post rock, strummed angular acoustic guitar and complex drumming, before giving way to a mellow mathy folk, which quickly crumbles into strange melodic fragments, almost sounding like a Gastr Del Sol track proper, chopped up and put together in some random order. Nice. The flipside starts off again, with a blast of post rock fury, aggressive acoustic guitar riffing and some seriously chaotic math rock drum freak out, before blissing out into a droney drift, complete with strange field recordings of children laughing and playing before fading out into a slow shimmer, all muted electronics and reverbed piano. So nice. Packaged in a thick vinyl sleeve with a full color sleeve, pressed on clear vinyl with a full color center label. Simple, stark and striking. "

"Est-il besoin de rappeler ce que doit le post-rock ? un groupe comme Gastr Del Sol? Rien que son line-up fait partie de la légende. De Jim O'Rourke, David Grubbs, John McEntire ? Bundy K.Brown, chacun de ses membres aura pesé lourdement sur beaucoup de groupes qui leur ont survécu. Ici, petite piq?re de rappel. Le label Minority Records exhume un 45 tours initialement paru en 1993 sur Teen Beat. Deux titres seulement, courts et concis mais qui résume assez bien l'univers si particulier de la formation de Chicago. Pas de paroles ici, seulement une musique tortueuse préfigurant parfaitement ce qu'on allait appeler par la suite le math-rock. Ces deux titres pourront paraître pour le moins anecdotiques et on préferera s?rement se rabattre sur des albums comme The Serpentine Similar ou Upgrade & Afterlife mais on ne peut que se réjouir, avec une pensée émue, de voir resurgir ces deux petites raretés qui s'étaient quelque peu perdues dans l'oubli. Alors voil?, 20 Songs Less n'apporte s?rement rien ? ce que l'on savait déj? du groupe, pas de surprises ébouriffantes ou de révélation soudaine, pour autant ce court effort replace Gastr Del Sol comme l'un des piliers du post-rock, icône incontournable si on veut un jour comprendre et apprécier le genre ? sa juste valeur. C'est la moindre des choses."

"Ebbene s?. Finalmente Jim O'Rourke ha capito che per lui non c'era davvero niente da fare di utile all'interno dei Sonic Youth: dischi cos? cos? e soprattutto visto sul palco assieme al quartetto classico sembrava davvero come un personaggio di serie b fuori posto. Giustizia ? fatta: fuori dalla band dunque e... quale migliore idea se non riprendere in mano i Gastr Del Sol? Telefonare a David Grubbs per una session sarebbe stato facile ma indietro (forse) non si torna. E cos? questo 7" ? una ristampa di ben quattordici anni fa: nella foto promozionale ci sono due ragazzotti un po' impacciati dietro ad una statua di Lenin e Stalin. All'improvviso mi sento un matusa. La mia personale triade del post rock vedeva Labradford, Tortoise e Gastr Del Sol come band che mi davano musica nuova, dopo l'ubriacatura di indierock che mi ero fatto gli anni prima: Upgrade And Afterlife e Camofleur (e ancor meglio per me tutto il Grubbs solista...) sono stati dischi diversi ed importanti. Per chi come me non conosceva i due pezzi di questo feticcio in vinile trasparente, le due canzoni si andranno ad aggiungere alle altre magie firmate dal duo: semplicit? e complicatezza unite insieme, atmosfere eteree e magiche. Per completare il sigillo di fabbrica in formazione ci sono pure Bundy K. Brown e John McEntire ed il logo del vinile ? tratto da un dipinto di Paul Green. Siamo arrivati al punto che escono le ristampe dei miei gruppi preferiti: senilit?? Ok, ma che disco..."

"Aujourd'hui réédité par le label Minority records, Twenty Songs Less présente un condensé probant de la musique de Gastr del Sol sur le temps imparti par un 45 tours. Axés ici autour de la guitare folk de David Grubbs, les morceaux apposent sur la mélodie rendue par des accords lents et répétitifs des pi?ces d'enregistrements environnementaux, l'électronica étouffée et des bandes en mode reverse de Jim O'Rourke, ou accueillent avec parcimonie des charges fulgurantes de batterie (John McEntire). Collages et tentatives vaines de déconstruction, puisque Twenty Songs Less va voir davantage du côté d'un minimalisme appliqué au domaine de la pop que d'une avant-garde nihiliste ou d'un rock qu'on pourra qualifier de post, histoire de l'enfoncer dans une époque plutôt que de le qualifier malignement. C'est justement cet aspect de la musique de Gastr del Sol qui plaidait en faveur d'une telle réédition."

"Imagine pressing the mute button on your stereo in the middle of a very loud free jazz record, cutting any and all sound in the house with the flip of a switch, leaving only the faint whistle of a tea kettle in the next room or children playing outside your window. This is the sound of 20 Songs Less, and it would be a defining moment in the careers of David Grubbs and Jim O'Rourke. Recorded shortly after their debut LP, The Serpentine Similar, this effort sheds the Bastro sound in favor of an emphasis on clever post-production and editing. It should come as no surprise, then, that it was the first Gastr del Sol release featuring O'Rourke. Acoustic guitars and reverberated pianos echo in the background. At other times, faint electronics bubble over children playing in a park and at any moment one or the other could drop out unexpectedly in favor of something new or, in some cases, complete silence. This is a definitively postmodern work, a very stark recording concerned much more with process than thematic structure. It does have its rewards, though, and listeners with open ears will find that inside this sometimes difficult material are a handful of moments both humorous and romantic."