Guitar Meditations ii

Another day listening to pseudo-New Age jams, working in the garden; popping dandelion heads while silver clouds turn black over the foothills, heralding thunder, bringing rain.
Most of you are probably no stranger to Emeralds' guitarist Mark McGuire, or his manymany solo releases. For a long time, i resisted the Emeralds' vast back-catalog, as i had several friends who were mad crazy hyped about the band, and i felt any action would be construed as mere bandwagoneering, even though secretly accruing many Emeralds releases, waiting for the right time. Waiting for my moment.
This week saw the addition to my home studio of two new Moogerfooger guitar pedals, that i have been creaming over since their creation in the early 2000s. It has raised the question, 'I finally have a vast armada of guitars and pedals, can kick up a storm that could silence the angels. What do i do with them?' As usual, i turn to the experts for advice.
McGuire is like the Mr. Miyagi of zen-trance guitar. Not as noisy as Thurston, not as homicidal as Aidan Baker, not as dense as Yellow Swans. There is nary a wall of sound to be found here. Instead, his tones dance and weave and drift, silhouetting against each other in a funhouse mirror of delay and echo, drifting, building. Often times reminiscent of excellent Germany Kosmische music, but without the acid fried politics of the 60s.
Hes got heart. Hes got soul. Hes got wide-eyed wonder. Hes got a guitar tone many would kill (or die) for, and most importantly, hes got song-writing ability. The two discs of Guitar Mediations II sprawl out to two hours, total, and its butt never drags in the sand once. Tracks don't stand out much, at least in the first couple times hearing this, but rather creates a snow globe mood world to get lost in.
This is sold out at all the distros, as far as i can tell, so with great joy, i share with you...

Mark McGuire - Guitar Meditations II