The idea of a journalist throwing a hat into the music creation and distribution business makes peers and fans alike cringe concerning the possibilities. Often the results are disastrous and quickly forgotten, yet here we stand face-to-face with Steve Lowenthal’s attempt at curating a series of acoustic guitar-based albums. Cleveland’s own Mark McGuire, renowned the synth world over for his work in Emeralds, is given a new and unique platform through VDSQ to show a different side of his creativity, and Solo Guitar Volume Two accomplishes just that.
Mark McGuire’s previous solo work has often followed the same path as his work within the trio of Emeralds: wide swatches of arching effects creating a blissful din of synth and barely recognizable guitar that coalesce into some unknown, yet familiar melody. It’s a talent that is hard to explain with a few hyperbolic adjectives but the phrase of the moment is hypnogogic pop or noise—neither of which does McGuire’s work service.
Solo Guitar Volume Two does not follow the same path as previous McGuire-involved releases. Rather, it’s a nearly stripped album of beautiful electro-acoustic tracks that not only deconstruct McGuire’s effects overload, but provide a deeper insight into his creative processes without textbook ennui or noticeable holes where John Elliot and Steve Hauschildt should fit.
Each side of the LP is a different glimpse into the creation process of McGuire. Side A falls in line with more traditional ragas and airs, finding McGuire delving into little to no effect in pursuit of guitar playing in its purest form. The three songs, “At First Sight,” “Vitamins,” and “Second Thoughts,” are bare—only McGuire’s energetic strumming. Some may be surprised at how poppy and full the sound is but the steely ringing of flesh striking string is a welcomed reprieve from McGuire’s indulgent loops and effect. Side B begins to delve into McGuire’s electronics, yet the results remain true to Side A’s stripped approach. “Front Porch” is a three minute flash in the pan, providing the necessary bridge between Solo Guitar Volume Two’s distinctive sides. Album closer “Burning Leaves” brings all of McGuire’s influences into a track of mammoth proportions, blending the electronic messes of Emeralds and McGuire’s previous solo recordings with building acoustic rhythms that bounce off each other, culminating in a track that reinvigorates the album and the acoustic guitar style with its simplicity among layered loops and delays.
McGuire captures the atmosphere in which he recorded and reproduces it in manners the din of Emeralds and previous solo material would never allow. Lowenthal’s stringed adventure is already paying off and I hope this isn’t the last time McGuire delves into the simpler sounds of guitar.
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