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JAMES BLACKSHAW - The Cloud Of Unknowing

JAMES BLACKSHAW - The Cloud Of Unknowing
TOMPKINS SQUARE
CD // £13.99
FOLK / AMERICANA
Released: Jul 2007
Catalogue Number: TSQ1967

JAMES BLACKSHAW - The Cloud Of Unknowing, TOMPKINS SQUARE

RE_PRESS/I must say it's easy to become blasé when confronted with another release from the relentless school of Takoma-influenced guitarists - it seems that almost every week we're greeted happily by a young feller brought up on John Fahey and Robbie Basho records who stole his dad's guitar and sold his soul to the devil, mired in his own credibility and willingness to revere his idols. It would be easy to pass over this latest full-length from virtuoso British 12-string demon James Blackshaw, throwing it into the same set of brackets as all 'the other' solo guitar albums, but that would be the first of several mistakes you could make about this quite remarkable release. We've long had a soft spot for Blackshaw's records, but this latest effort is so developed and multi-faceted that it may as well be the work of a completely different musician. You get the feeling that unlike so many of his contemporaries Blackshaw is making this kind of music because he should, he has a confident, natural touch on the guitar - and 'The Cloud of Unknowing' is where it erupts wholeheartedly into not only a display of technical prowess but also an exploration of beauty and simplicity. Across five lengthy pieces Blackshaw incorporates violin, glockenspiel and cymbala, giving rise to comparisons with Scandinavian electro-acoustic experimenters Tape or some of the more recent Kranky output. Blackshaw manages to effortlessly jump from the full-bodied 12-string solo work of the title track to the abstract twinkling ambience of 'Clouds Collapse' with ease, imbuing the album with a variety and distinct quality that sets it apart from anything else You'll have heard from either himself or his contemporaries. By allowing himself the luxury of variety Blackshaw has created an album that stands up on its own, an album that you could imagine released on the 4AD label just as easily as from a label as rooted in Takoma's heritage as Tompkins Square, it is an album of modern dream pop (or should that be dream folk?), it's just done slightly differently. Whatever you think about this kind of music, throw down your prejudices for a second and take a listen, I promise you won't be disappointed. Quite simply breathtaking...

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