Chicago trio Black Duck (Douglas McCombs, Bill MacKay, Charles Rumback) release their self-titled debut album on June 23rd via Thrill Jockey. Following their first album single, ‘Of the Lit Backyards’, today sees the release of ‘Second Guess’.
The talents of all three are pretty mesmerising. Through past offerings with the likes of Nathan Bowles (Keys) and Dutch cellist Katinka Kleijn (stir), the Chicagoan guitarist MacKay has a breadth of vision spanning avant-garde, jazz, folk and beyond, one that is matched in fellow shapeshifter McCombs. While there’s no holding back here, there’s a grace riding through ‘Second Guess‘ that dictates the mood of the piece. MacKay and McCombs could be painting their own soundtrack here for all the deep colours they present, punctuated by Rumback’s intuitive percussion that ranges from the intimate to the billowing. Just like his 2019 album with Ryley Walker (Little Common Twist), Rumback carries it perfectly, allowing them the freedom to stretch alongside tension and pace. It’s a delight from start to finish.
Second Guess is also our Tune of the Day.
Black Duck is described as a gallery of sonic tapestries, unbound by any constraints while also utilizing genre touchstones. Challenging what a trio of two guitarists and a drummer can do, pieces move from breezy shuffles to stormy blues rumbles to gorgeous textural drones. Playing entirely improvised live sets for years helped develop the trio’s acute senses for one another, knowing precisely how to listen to the others and bolster whatever direction they move in. Playing to the moment and reading each other and the spaces they’re in formed a fluency between the trio, which allows them to follow each other down winding paths and short tangents alike. Black Duck’s debut is a testament to that fluency, an expedition led by three veterans into alluring worlds bathed in myriad splendours.
After already being invited to play Big Ears Festival and alongside acts like Yo La Tengo (read our recent live review), Black Duck will be playing select U.S. dates this summer, with more worldwide dates to be announced.
Black Duck live dates
Jun. 29 – Milwaukee, WI – ACME Records
Jun. 30 – Chicago, IL – Hungry Brain
Jul. 1 – Chicago, IL – Hungry Brain
Pre-order Black Duck’s Black Duck:
https://thrilljockey.com/products/black-duck
You can also hear Second Guess on our Alternative Playlist: