 |
|
Danny Paul Grody, "In Search of Light"
On last year's excellent Fountain, Grody divided his time between nods to droning contemporary ambient and more traditional acoustic guitar fare.  This time around, the focus is much heavier on his more rustic, Takoma-influenced leanings, which yields mixed results.  On one hand, these songs are more distinctive and anachronistic, but their languid pace and comparative lack of hooks blunts their impact a bit. In Search of Light still boasts some wonderful songs though–they're just a bit more sparingly distributed than they were on its predecessor.
As far as opening songs go, Grody could not have done much better than the wistful and languorous waltz of "Hello From of Everywhere," which beautifully weaves together bittersweet synth buzz and a nicely harmonized descending guitar melody.  Despite ending a bit sooner than I would have liked, it is pretty much the embodiment of everything Danny does well, which set my expectations for the rest of the album almost impossibly high.  In a few instances, such as the gentle and dreamlike "China Beach," he manages to deliver on that huge initial promise.  "Stars Gaze," the album's sole foray into shimmering ambiance, is quite beautiful as well.  Unfortunately, there are also several pieces that sound to me like a key component is absent.  In the otherwise excellent "Orbits," for example, Grody creates a nice pulse with a pleasantly chiming arpeggio progression, but leaves out a strong melody.  It still works in the sense that it is likable and derives a cumulative power from intelligent repetition, but it definitely falls short of the heights reached elsewhere on the album.
A few other pieces miss the mark a bit more conspicuously though, mostly when Grody indulges an urge to lazily meander or incorporate psych elements– he does both on "Ohr," lamentably.  My lukewarm feelings regarding some of the other pieces are probably attributable to a widening gulf between my taste and Danny's taste rather than questionable artistic decisions though: I am simply not a huge fan of  the '70s Takoma roster to begin with (Robbie Basho, love of raga, etc.), and Grody seems to have appropriated much of that aesthetic minus the blues and ragtime elements that gave that milieu much of its gravitas and vibrancy.  I definitely get the sense that Danny is converging towards some kind of kora/folk/minimalism amalgamation that is all his own, which puts me in the curious position of being disappointed to see someone evolving towards a more original aesthetic (he is misfiring with honor and vision!).  This wouldn't bother me nearly so much, naturally, if I didn't love the other facets of his sound– change is hard when the status quo is desirable.  Thankfully, he has not reached that hypothesized ultimate stylistic destination just yet. In Search of Light may be a so-called "transitional" album, but it is happily still a half-great one.
Samples:
 
 
