From the stoned Americana ramble of “Due West” to their surprisingly convincing take on John Coltrane’s “Spiritual,” Elkhorn’s 2017 LP, The Black River, was eclectic and confident, the sound of two guys with massive record collections, serious chops, and great ears for melody wearing their influences on their sleeves. By contrast, Lionfish reveals a distilled, introspective version of Elkhorn. There are no surprise covers, no memorable tunes, no overt nods to jazz, raga, or American folk. Save a light sprinkling of ceremonial bells and a few smears of singing bowl, Lionfish consists of nothing more than Jesse Sheppard and Drew Gardner on 12-string acoustic and six-string electric guitar, respectively, winding their way through two brooding improvisations. Where The Black River fused disparate musical traditions into something shining and expansive, Lionfish is cloudy and meditative, the crepuscular comedown to its predecessor’s sunshine daydream.
How engrossing you find Lionfish depends on your tolerance for spacy, directionless guitar jamming. However, if you’ve ever fantasized about Robbie Basho showing up during a particularly dreamy “Dark Star,” Lionfish is the moody, meandering trip you’ve been waiting for. Eschewing the propulsive melodies and ecstatic sheets of sound of earlier work in favor of smoky tendrils of tone and a spacious, open-ended approach, Lionfish is less focused and compelling than The Black River, but also provides us with a more intimate look at its players, allowing us to hear them at their freest, unbound by structure or genre.
Though Lionfish is structurally free, Sheppard and Gardner’s playing is more restrained than on past releases. This restraint, and the tension it engenders, keeps the nearly formless Lionfish consistently engaging and prevents it from devolving into showy shredding or flacid noodling. While it feels like a lateral move after the ambitious The Black River, Lionfish is as cosmic as it is conversational, is a worthy accompaniment to your own nocturnal explorations of inner space.
S by Solar: Affordable Guitars for Aspiring Players
Solar Guitars founder Ola Englund has expanded his musical empire with the launch of “S by Solar,” a brand-new line aimed at revolutionizing the budget-friendly metal and electric guitar markets. With 17 models spanning six body shape categories, all priced under $349.
S by Solar
In a strategic move, Ola Englund acknowledges the need to make quality instruments accessible to beginners and…
Did you see part one? I felt like posting all my guitars online simply for something else to look at, and I thought others might enjoy.
I still plan to blog about some of the more interesting ones. Hopefully you guys enjoy the content. Thanks for the likes on social media. I don’t think anyone else started to use the #AllMyAxes hashtag. Oh well. Ha ha.
Since the world is a bit strange right now, I decided I wanted to see more guitars on social media. Maybe it’ll start a trend, maybe not.
I like classic guitars, I like modern guitars, I like classy guitars, I like ugly guitars. I like guitars. I like playing them. I like looking at them online. I like looking at them on my wall. I like looking at them in the store. I like hearing them. …
