Over the past 10 years, the Tower Recordings collective has produced some notable splinter groups and musicians, including MV & EE, Tim Barnes, and Samara Lubelski. But it’s singer-songwriter/guitarist Pat Gubler (aka P.G. Six) who has proved TR’s most ambitious alum. With over four solo albums in six years, Six not only has shed TR’s neo-Brit-folk sound, but has found ways to make the band’s twin loves –improvisational jamming and experimental noise — serve his ever-evolving songwriting craft.

Slightly Sorry is easily Six’s most drastic departure to date, sounding perfect alongside early Jackson Browne or any other canyon-bred sensitivo (which is kinda odd, because the dude lives in New York). On “Bless These Blues” and “Sweet Music,” both of which feature some wonderfully warm organ tones and intricate pick-work, Six turns confessional, while the spacious accompaniment invokes vistas rarely seen this side of the Mississippi. In all honesty, though, it’s going to take more than just a few spins to decipher the kind of personal issues Six is crooning about here; like Browne, his vocals are understated to the point of blurring into pure sound. But at least he’s got that musicianship down — something which shouldn’t be taken lightly. There are so many indie-folksters these days capable of turning a clever phrase, but unlike Six, most of these jokers are unskilled musicians and unimaginative arrangers.

This article appears in Apr 11-17, 2007.