WEEK OF 080428 PLAYLIST: LUCKY DRAGONS // SIR RICHARD BISHOP
Lucky Dragons: Widows
Larkin Grimm had recommended this artist to me two years ago, after she played a free show at my former warehouse loft in Oakland. The artist's brother, an Oaklander, was also at the show -- a friendly chap. It should have been apt for me to have put Lucky Dragons on one of my weekly playlists shortly after the show, then. However, after acquiring all the albums, and cursorily clicking on their diverse portions, I had decided that it was more noisy and cut-up than sublime. Somehow, I recently gave it another glance, and am so pleased that I listened long enough to allow it to be played over and over all week. Even my housemates enjoyed hearing it. There are some pretty moments. It instantly goes in the "sublime post-rock" pile (you know, along with the second Four-tet album, Do Make Say Think, The third Tortoise album, etc)
Sir Richard Bishop: All Strung Out.
I don't think SRB belongs in the post-Fahey pantheon of bottom-up open-tuning spiritual acoustic guitarists. He is arguably talented, he possesses an impeccable attractiveness for his love of foreign cultures, particularly from Asia. But I just don't find his pieces to be heady enough. For that we go to Jack Rose, to Ben Chasny (his early work, mind you).