Guitarist and composer Chuck Johnson is nothing if not unpredictable. He released two thrilling solo acoustic fingerstyle guitar records in 2013's widely celebrated Crows in the Basilica and 2015's criminally underrated Blood Moon Boulder. Over the same period, he's added to an extensive résumé of soundtrack work, most prominently for director Cynthia Hill on the PBS series A Chef's Life and the HBO documentary Private Violence . Velvet Arc, on the other hand, re-explores the possibilities of the electric guitar music he ...
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Guitarist and composer Chuck Johnson is nothing if not unpredictable. He released two thrilling solo acoustic fingerstyle guitar records in 2013's widely celebrated Crows in the Basilica and 2015's criminally underrated Blood Moon Boulder. Over the same period, he's added to an extensive résumé of soundtrack work, most prominently for director Cynthia Hill on the PBS series A Chef's Life and the HBO documentary Private Violence . Velvet Arc, on the other hand, re-explores the possibilities of the electric guitar music he played in the late '90s and early 2000s with Idyll Swords. Johnson's guitar and synth playing are supported here by bassist Ben Bracken and drummer Alex Vittum, and occasionally Marielle Jakobsons' violin. Velvet Arc is structured in halves. The first half is more openly, if abstractly, rockist while the second half is more roots-oriented, though still experimental. "As I Stand Counting" is a spooky blues that combines the droning Mississippi Delta juke joint groove of Junior Kimbrough and the desert blues of Rainer Ptacek (Giant Sand, Das Combo) with surfadelic interludes. Bracken and Vittum are unshakeable though they add the roomy elasticity that Johnson's explorations require. "Everything at Once" is a waltz; the synth emulates an organ and the slide guitar a pedal steel. Vittum adds the dance feel in his fills and Bracken subtly walks the changes. "Anamet" is played solo fingerstyle. The electric guitar and synth revisit the acoustic tune "Private Violence (based on the film's theme) from Blood Moon Boulder, carving dimensional space from the melody that adds to its tragic sweetness. The title cut is the album's hinge piece. A cut-time, wide-open country lament, it features Johnson's back porch fingerstyle playing contrasted with Jakobsons' high lonesome violin. As the tune travels, both dissemble into an abstract, minimal soundscape. The second half commences with the shuffling, breezy country rock of "Roadside Auspices," with Bracken's bassline adding deft fills to Johnson's tight, patterned, yet tonally expansive playing. Farfisa-esque synth chords lend an extra rhythmic punch to the drum kit. "The Pace" is a roadhouse-style, country blues boogie, complete with sharp sevenths, a tambourine, added acoustic guitar, and handclaps. Closer "Middle Water" combines the 2-step shuffle of Johnny Cash & the Tennessee Two with a dancehall fiddle, psychedelic synth, and a steel guitar effect. A modal bridge stretches the interlocked, cut-time drum and bass vamp, adding an element of otherness. Velvet Arc sounds and feels loose, but it's deceptive because of its detailed timbres and tonal colors. Though Johnson plays electric guitars, this is the album -- the crossroads -- where most of his wide range of abilities -- as composer, electronic experimentalist, finger-style guitarist, Piedmont blues player, and country music enthusiast -- all come together on a sonic map. The end result is as vibrant and compelling as it is deceptively complex. ~ Thom Jurek, Rovi
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