Pat Gubler, the P.G. initials behind New York band P.G. Six, has been producing music for over a decade now, to some critical acclaim, but he’s mainly been working away quietly in the shade while the rest of the city that never sleeps rides the coattails of the latest scene. P.G. Six could well have joined in with the whole new folk/freak-folk scene just around the time when Devendra Banhart and Gubler’s ex-Tower Recordings pal Matt Valentine (of MV and EE) were getting all the column inches. While Banhart and Valentine are free-spirited adventurers, Gubler’s band, now on Drag City, were always a little more grounded in their folk explorations, turning from Fairport Convention style electric jams to Neil Young and Crazy Horse territory. And this is where we find Gubler on new album Starry Mind; it’s a record of trebly, muscular guitar workouts with the focus firmly on the country rock.

It’s Gubler’s guitar work that’s the star of the show here, although his gentle and unobtrusive voice, that recalls a softer Bill Callahan, is also something of a treat. He works within a basic four-piece band but does most of the guitar and vocal work himself, with help from Deborah Schwartz on some smashing harmonies.

There are so many moments on this record that make me think of Crazy Horse, from the electric fizz of opener ‘January’ which recalls the louder moments of On the Beach to the locked-in groove of album standout ‘Palaces’. That song goes from studied riffs to an all-out, heads-down solo assault by the end of the six minutes. It’s a crackerjack moment, despite the hippy lyrics telling of “a girl with lilac in her hair” and “walking through the hanging gardens of your mind”.

Then there’s ‘Talk Me Down’, which again despite treading some dodgy lyrical paths benefits from some straight-ahead country rockin’ and is probably the brightest moment on the album as a result. It’s a Byrdsian jangle – all loose and airy – and the one song on the record to explicitly refer to a “you” and is an obviously personal moment.

‘Letter’, the album’s second track is a metallic drone of a song and features Gubler duelling on lead guitar with Tara Key from veteran No Wave band Antietam. It’s an incredibly powerful track, and not just for the virtuoso axe-work. The lyrics cryptically refer to Gubler wanting to write a letter to explain some wrong he appears to have committed, and the mood of the track is dark and heavy. Also gloomy is ‘Days Hang Heavy’, one of the more introspective moments on the album. It’s a slowed-down dusty folk tune with keening lap steel, and showcases Gubler’s gentle voice perfectly. That’s not to say the louder tracks don’t manage to do the same, but somehow such a soft delivery isn’t overpowered by Gubler and his band amping up.

Following the disappointing ‘Wrong Side of Yesterday’, the record ends with the powerful mid-tempo jam of ‘Crooked Way’, all psych rock licks and excellent harmonies, and closes out with the organ swirl of the hopeful ‘This Song’. Despite the disingenuous lyrics suggesting that “a song is but a song / words are only words”, Gubler surely knows that this isn’t really the case.

Starry Mind is a solid record that certainly won’t shame the P.G. Six canon, and there’s enough here to attract new listeners to Pat Gubler’s brand of electric jams – it’s a well-crafted album from a guy who’s happy to keep doing what he’s best at, and remain quietly in the shade.