Monday, January 24, 2011

Alexander Turnquist - Faint At The Loudest Hour


Label: VHF Records
Released: 2008
Style: Folk Rock, Drone, Experimental

"Faint at the Loudest Hour is the astonishing solo debut by guitarist Alexander Turnquist, part of a young generation of guitar players who have taken their incredible virtuosity and turned it into something actually worth listening to. Like James Blackshaw, Jack Rose, Glenn Jones, etc, this could roughly be described as "raga" guitar, with its long, modal compositions and hypnotic overtone play. Unlike most of his peers, Alex employs a variety of extended techniques ala Hans Reichel, grappling the strings with both hands and using a variety of approaches and attacks on both the steel and wood. There's also a distinct lack of audible "roots" influence here, with Alex sidestepping the Fahey-isms that dominate so much current acoustic guitar music. Along with the 6 & 12 string acoustics, Alex makes subtle use of electronic textures, such as the surprising Fennesz-like dissolve that occurs midway through "amongst a swarm of hummingbirds."' - Label

Tracklisting:

1 Amongst A Swarm Of Hummingbirds (13:29)
2 In The Vein Of Bedlam (11:05)
3 Water Spots Upon My Mind (13:48)
4 White Out (5:02)
5 Mime Fight (10:43)
6 As The Sun Sets, We Think Of Days To Come (3:13)

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