This week, Steve Gunn released Acoustic Unseen on Matador Records, a new EP of intimate acoustic versions of songs from his critically acclaimed latest album, The Unseen In Between. Accompanying the news of the release is a short documentary titled Unseen Anthology which opens to a scene of Gunn performing outside one of London’s thirteen green cab shelters, diminutive sheds which were originally introduced in 1875 to provide shelter for cabmen – and also to keep them out of the Victorian pubs.
Directed by The Mitcham Submarine and edited by James Harman, the documentary weaves together footage from touring, live sessions, official and unofficial music videos – including a breathtaking session for Toutpartout in a transformed convent in Ghent, on the road footage captured on a Fisher-Price camera by Steve and his band, and acoustic videos filmed across London, including a Cecil Court bookshop. Taken together, it’s an engrossing live document of an artist in need of little more than a guitar and his voice to conjure a transfixing atmosphere, and a perfect visual companion to the EP.
In his review of The Unseen In Between, David Weir concluded:
“The Unseen In Between is befitting of its title; a mysterious and mesmeric edgeland offering glimpses into the underbelly of a half-remembered neighbourhood, and the trials and habits of its outcasts. It could be argued that the view is too familiar for some, causing them to wander and grow listless. Upon looking deeper however, many will find solace in the oblique tales and tragedies. Those relatable human moments, which can be found right under your nose….”
The EP features a stripped down perspective on the stately set and disclosing the songs’ rich individual elements in Gunn’s dexterous and lyrical guitar style. Steve says: “After being on the road with the band since January, I wanted to spend an afternoon capturing the songs from The Unseen In Between as I originally wrote them, with just me and my acoustic. Mid-year, I went back to the great Strange Weather Studio in Brooklyn, and played through the songs in their most basic form. It felt good.”
Acoustic Unseen is out now on Matador Records
Tour Dates
Tour Dates:
18/10 – Austin, TX, US – Lambert’s #
20/10 – Tulsa, OK – Duet Jazz, U (solo show and Q&A w/ The Bob Dylan Center)
23/10 – Seattle, WA, US – The Showbox *
24/10 – Vancouver, BC, CA – Commodore *
25/10 – Bellingham, WA, US – Wild Buffalo *
26/10 – Portland, OR, US – Wonder Ballroom *
28/10 – San Francisco, CA, US, Slim’s *
29/10 – San Francisco, CA, US – Slim’s *
30/10 – San Francisco, CA, US – Slim’s *
3/11 – Tokyo, Japan – Shibuya 7th Floor #
6/11 – Auckland, NZ – The Tuning Fork #
7/11 – Woolston, NZ – Blue Smoke #
8/11 – North Dunedin, NZ – The Cook #
9/11 – Blenheim, NZ – The Plant #
10/11 – Wellington, NZ – The Moon #
13/11 – Napier, NZ – Sitting Room Session #
16-17/11 – Mullumbimby, NSW / Mullum Music Festival #
18/11 – Brisbane, NSW – Junk Bar #
20/11 – Hobart, NSW – Altar #
21/11 – Castlemaine, NSW – Theatre Royal ^
22/11 – Melbourne, NSW – State Library ^
23/11 – Coalchella, NSW – Wombarra Bowlo *
24/11 – Sydney, NSW – Red Rattler ^
26-29/3 – Knoxville, TN – Big Ears Festival
* solo set opening for Dinosaur Jr.
# solo show
^ solo show w/ Tiny Ruins
Photo Credit: Bobby Fisher