C. Gibbs

Parade of Small Horses

Dren/Rubric
By Randy Harward
On 2003's The Pinkermen Set, C. Gibbs was settling into a creative identity: a singer-songwriter with more than a passing fascination with the earth-toned, gritty songs and aesthetics of Tom Waits and Neil Young. At the time, Gibbs wasn't quite developed; he was previously a member of '80s New-Wavers Modern English, had led rowdy and rustic rockers the Morning Glories, then dabbled in similar yet poppier sounds with the C. Gibbs Group, which evolved into his current four-piece backing band, the Cardia Bros. Parade of Small Horses completes the transition, as Gibbs is more comfortable in his spare, dusty songs. The haunting "Ferdinand"; the ghost-town waltz "Honeywell"; the Byrdsy-Waitsy hoedown "Tenhorse"; the pretty and folksy "So Long Marie": They all point to a matured songwriter who has perfected his craft and created his first masterpiece.