Armed with just an electric guitar, Dave Heumann takes you to stoic, idyllic places on Guitar Tapes Vol. 1.
On this record, Heumann, of whom you may know of as the head of Arbouretum, plays seven sprawling electric guitar improvisations without any overdubs or accompanists. With such a simplified set up, Heumann focuses hard on things like tone, pacing and atmosphere. The results of this intense concentration are deeply meditative and transportive.
Slathering his guitar work in effects like cavernous echoes and damp reverb, Heumann brings a particularly psychedelic edge to his improvisations. The minimalist pieces all tend to develop a rippling and warped sound, keeping the record firmly planted in a surreal dreamlike place.
Each track rolls along calmly, with plenty of momentum, making you experience the sensation that you’re coasting across vast landscapes with ease.
Often while I’m listening to solo guitar music, I feel as though I’m on a journey, with mountains and clouds crawling or zipping past me as I sail on down the road. So it’s refreshing to come across an album that truly feels like it was actually created with that very effect in mind. (The fact that the liner notes on Bandcamp even state a similar reaction is quite validating!).
If albums by Emma Ruth Rundle or Willie Lane and Neil Young’s vastly underrated Dead Man soundtrack are cherished LPs in your collection, then you need to hear Guitar Tapes Vol. 1. Click here to get your copy from Sun Cru Records today!
-KH
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