2006, Part Ten

GHQ - Cosmology Of Eye (2006)

John Fahey is achieving a sort of strange resurgence in recent years, and with good reason. The man pioneered, arguably, the use of the acoustic guitar outside of its normal means. With that in mind, artists like Jack Rose and Six Organs Of Admittance are quietly nodding to their under-appreciated patriarch with complex layers of acoustic snarl delayed and amplified to striking result. When listening to Cosmology Of Eye I couldn't help but identify GHQ's collaborative efforts as belonging to that small sub-movement. However, where, say, Jack Rose opts for the more traditional incarnations of Fahey's work, GHQ throw in a variety of noises and allow it to build and swell around acoustic guitar resembling Fahey's latter, more experimental work. In fact, they often don't incorporate any acoustic guitar at all, and yet it still all sounds decidedly "Faheyan." A boiling ocean of sounds can be found, ebbing and flowing in symbiosis, only to seperate just as seemlessly as they collided. The result has been described as "Indian raga," and there are some Eastern sounds here, but the album tends to transcend those ties as well. Just a great record to throw some headphones on and listen to, in general.

Download "Black River Apples"