With the sales of electric guitars not what they once were, many music business commentators have spoken out on the need for a new generation of guitar heroes. Since Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck don't mean much to most folks under 30 these days, they'd like to see some younger fret-wrestlers who will inspire America's youth to step away from their laptops and pick up a six-string. As it happens, it might be a Gen Z-er who does the trick, as evidenced by Tash Sultana on their first full-length album, 2018's Flow State. The 23 ...
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With the sales of electric guitars not what they once were, many music business commentators have spoken out on the need for a new generation of guitar heroes. Since Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck don't mean much to most folks under 30 these days, they'd like to see some younger fret-wrestlers who will inspire America's youth to step away from their laptops and pick up a six-string. As it happens, it might be a Gen Z-er who does the trick, as evidenced by Tash Sultana on their first full-length album, 2018's Flow State. The 23-year-old Australian first found an audience through social media videos in which they created over-the-top guitar soundscapes through the use of looping pedals, and while Flow State is clearly intended to also show off Sultana's gifts as a vocalist, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist (they play all the instruments on these recordings), their guitar work shines pretty bright on this album. These songs have more to do with contemporary R&B than rock & roll, but Sultana has a rocker's love of the big guitar solo, and when they turn up the amps and let rip on "Big Smoke," "Murder to the Mind," and "Pink Moon," they reveal a winning confidence and an ability to make their instrument snarl eloquently. Prince appears to be more of a role model to Sultana than any British blues guys, given the Australian's taste for pop-leaning R&B tunes, emotive high-pitched vocals, bold and personal lyrics, and a well-programmed drum machine. But Sultana clearly has a mind and a muse of their own and like Prince, isn't afraid to follow it, with languid, low-key numbers like "Mellow Marmalade" and "Harvest Love" sitting side by side with dance grooves like "Cigarettes" and the attitudinal, hip-hop-influenced "Salvation." Tash Sultana is a modern rarity, a gifted guitarist with a healthy appreciation for flash but practically no rockist impulses, despite the presence of the nine-minute showcase "Blackbird." Sultana could stand to edit themself a bit better, but Flow State is unquestionably the work of a first-rate talent with potential, and if anyone is going to teach younger artists about the innate coolness of the guitar, they seem like just the person to do it. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
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