P.G. Six

P.G. Six is the moniker used to denote the solo work of singer and multi-instrumentalist Pat Gubler, a prolific New York musician whose other endeavors include <a href="spotify:artist:4VPlBaHBVEO25m9OQvvjzZ">Tower Recordings</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:1TXHrO95dfoSAoaTnmxvX4">Metal Mountains</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:6H02fFieSQ9vndSiK6njTR">Wet Tuna</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:4UDV6e9Xh5m3yQeGsrnWLP">Garcia Peoples</a>. As P.G. Six, his music takes influence from British and American folk music and combines elements of experimental indie rock, lo-fi, and improvisation. After making his debut with 2001's Parlor Tricks and Porch Favorites, Gubler released a string of acclaimed P.G. Six albums over the next decade, ending with 2011's Starry Mind. He remained busy with other projects but revived P.G. Six in 2023 with his bucolic sixth album, Murmurs and Whispers.

Gubler became known in the '90s for his lo-fi experimental band Memphis Luxe, which eventually morphed into the rangy psych-folk collective <a href="spotify:artist:4VPlBaHBVEO25m9OQvvjzZ">Tower Recordings</a>. Around the turn of the century, he made his first recordings as P.G. Six, which were released in 2001 as Parlor Tricks and Porch Favorites. As a songwriter, Gubler's solo music evoked the late-'60s/early-'70s U.K. folk-rock of acts like <a href="spotify:artist:1FqG6mhiJbhbMg43ohCT6D">Bert Jansch</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:0tQzBYPjAardhWpGkqVdNW">the Incredible String Band</a>, yet there was also a strong American indie element in its distorted guitars and hissy lo-fi feel. The album was adored by those who heard it, and over the coming years he built up a similarly adventurous catalog for small labels like <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Amish%22">Amish</a> and <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Perhaps+Transparent+Records%22">Perhaps Transparent Records</a>. A typical P.G. Six album could include everything from Celtic harp and flute to harsh drones and <a href="spotify:artist:0tIODqvzGUoEaK26rK4pvX">Sun Ra</a>-style improvisation. He jumped to <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Drag+City%22">Drag City</a> in 2007 for the charming Slightly Sorry, then waited another four years to release the eclectic 2011 full-band effort Starry Mind.

After this, the P.G. Six name went on an extended hiatus while Gubler busied himself with an array of other projects. He collaborated with artists like Debby Schwarz, <a href="spotify:artist:7m0vo8YcqFNXFOoKycpOES">Samara Lubelski</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:4p5KkWGoCb2K65AN7FpR9S">Sharron Kraus</a> and launched newer projects like <a href="spotify:artist:1TXHrO95dfoSAoaTnmxvX4">Metal Mountains</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:6H02fFieSQ9vndSiK6njTR">Wet Tuna</a>. In the late 2010s, he joined the indie rock/neo-jam band <a href="spotify:artist:4UDV6e9Xh5m3yQeGsrnWLP">Garcia Peoples</a> and entered the next decade touring and recording as their keyboardist. Finally, in 2023, Gubler re-emerged as P.G. Six with another album for <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Drag+City%22">Drag City</a>. With its pastoral harp arrangements and delicate guitar work, Murmurs and Whispers hearkened back to the project's early days, albeit with a greater sense of peace. ~ Timothy Monger, Rovi