Dave Ruder – not Great

released on CD & tape & digital November 12th, 2021

not Great, the fifth full length album from Dave Ruder, is a collection of songs that elicits laughter and tears side by side. The bizarreness of being a flesh and blood human in the 21st Century is silly, scary, and boring all at once.

Since his last full length solo release Qualms Rectified and its “mature, wisened treasure trove of perfectly arranged horns, woodwinds, bowed strings & restrained guitar” (Cassette Gods), he has stayed busy with other projects. not Great marks the 55th release from Gold Bolus Recordings, the label Dave founded and has run since 2013. Dave is also a member of the Varispeed collective, known for their performances of Robert Ashley’s work; of the “riotously unpredictable” (The New Yorker) multi-media group thingNY; and “spaced-out and hypnotic” (The Brooklyn Rail) rock quintet Thee Reps.

Most of this album’s music was written in 2019, and Dave had initially planned to record this album live in Spring 2020. After getting COVID in March 2020 and finding afterwards his pre-existing hand and wrist troubles were worse than ever, a more gradual and cautious approach was needed. All the players recorded themselves at home, and Dave’s ability to play instruments became more and more limited. After getting COVID a second time in January 2021, he could no longer play guitar (Jonah Rosenberg stepped in for the one guitar part Dave didn’t finish). The lyrical focus on the fallibility of bodies and of striving to not be in pain became even more pertinent.

Unlike all of Dave’s previous albums, not Great maintains a consistent sound world throughout. Dave’s voice sits in a nest of strings, Rhodes, and guitars, a few winds, and a pinch of synth bass and drums. Dave has long existed somewhere between the poles of pop songwriter and experimental composer, and he continues to make these distinctions unnecessary. The album has songs with simple verse/chorus structures (“To Stay Alive”) next to others that are built more like sectional art songs (“Love Song in Linens”). Tracks like “Cosplay” and “Pious Rious” have asymmetrical structures and shifting chords that vary from section to section.

Lyrically, not Great lives on the edge of a dream world. “Pious Rious” struggles with extracting your identity from the cultural archetypes and ephemera you’ve encountered, and eventually capitulates with the invitation, “come on baby, let’s do the twisk” [sic]. “Biggest Lobsters” is fuzzy but resolute – certain in its wisdom to not build structures on barrier islands, but unsure about one’s bodily odor. Similarly, “Cosplay” and “Lisa Sushi” describe people being called back to the reality of their jobs while they muse about their footwear, or about going vegan. “Applied Brontology” and “Potato Party” might well be dreams of ponies, thunder, blue jeans, or surveillance.

More somberly, “To Stay Alive” imagines Barry Gibb, or any other survivor who is both lost and impatient, years into their grief. The album’s title track, a sort of post-it note left on a mirror, is a prescription for someone clearly in pain, but just now considering the idea that it would be okay if they got better. One of the album’s themes, as stated in “Applied Brontology”, is that it is very difficult to have a body. The album’s title comes from these feelings, and many post-COVID months of answering honestly the commonplace question, “How are you?”

The album was given sonic coherence in mixing by Stephe Cooper (Cloud Becomes Your Hand). Guest performers include Dave’s frequent collaborators Karen Waltuch (75 Dollar Bill), Isabel Castellvi (thingNY), Andie Tanning (Object Collection), Sam Morrison (Thee Reps), Kyra Sims (NY Neo-Futurists), Jonathan Zorn (Jack Anger), and Jonah Rosenberg (Daniel Carter).

written, arranged, & produced by Dave Ruder
Dave Ruder – vocals, guitars, piano, synthesizer, drum programming, clarinet
Isabel Castellvi – cello
Sam Morrison – Rhodes
Kyra Sims – horn in F
Jonah Rosenberg – rhythm guitar (track 3)
Andie Tanning – violin
Karen Waltuch – viola
Jonathan Zorn – synth bass (track 5)
recorded by everyone at home
mixed by Stephe Cooper
mastered by MP Kuo @ MPKRecording
art by Dave Ruder