As I continue to catch up on some of my favorite sounds this year, I just had to pay special attention to one record that has consistently caught my ear and spurred my imagination: the latest LP by Yuma, AZ guitarist, Cameron Knowler.

CRK is a showcase for Knowler’s virtuosic and versatile fingerpicking skills, which reflect a multitude of different styles and inspirations blending into his own. Echoes of old time string music, Appalachian blues and the angular guitar soli work of folks like Sir Richard Bishop or David Grubbs might even be felt throughout the record’s nimble yet precise playing. You cycle through so many different moods and unique styles on this album, yet everything still feels so intrinsically linked through how the guitar playing is geared towards establishing an atmosphere.

Take for instance the country swing of “Last House on Walpi,” which establishes a sauntering late night honky-tonk vibe, heavy on the melty pedal steel. Or the moody curlicue-laden blues reel, “Secret Water,” which builds into a sort of sultry barn stomp. Or the kaleidoscopic fragmentary mini-melodies and ethereal flurries of soft dazzling notes that serve as the perfect backdrop for the vividly surreal spoken-word poetry of “Christmas in Yuma.” Knowler utilizes every tool in his toolbox—like dragging the grain of his fingertips a little to emphasize the texture of the strings to make his guitar shimmer or grumble—to conjure these scenes, places and climates beautifully.

A marvelous record and a stellar display of Knowler’s masterful abilities.

Find your copy through Worried Songs today.

-KH