Major Chicago label Drag City signed North Carolina-based Bhutanese experimental guitarist Tashi Dorji back in 2020 and oversaw the release of two incendiary solo acoustic improvised albums, Stateless, and we will be wherever the fires are lit. For both albums, Tashi took his old Hofner acoustic to the outhouse in his garden and recorded them pretty much in real time, save for some re-tuning. The music on both critically acclaimed sets is some of the angriest and most politically charged he has done, the style bringing to mind Bill Orcutt’s earliest solo acoustic work.
For low clouds hang, this land is on fire (perhaps the lower case is an anti-capitalist comment), Tashi decided to take a less overt but equally effective approach to comment on the state of things, this time using his electric guitar, moving from the shed to the family home (the high ceilinged room brings a churchlike feel to a lot of the music), slowing down his playing (there are certainly echoes of Loren Connors here), dialling up the reverb and drawing out space, ‘to find the silence’, he says.
The impression this shift gives is less one of peace and contentment and rather one of exhaustion, yet, as on both other Drag City albums, there is positivity to be found in the melancholy and peace in the playing, especially on songs like burn the throne. Reverb and harmonics interchange here with delicate playing and a sense of broad, white space to create a tone of lightness and perhaps even respite.
On the flip are pieces like But go not back to the sediment in the slime of the moaning sea, which is immediately gnarlier and more industrial in character. Here, single notes scrape against ominous effects, creating a threatening atmosphere. This one has a density to it that contrasts with the lighter tracks, like the clean and almost mischievous storm the heavens, another shorter piece that uses space and reverb to tangle notes and create a playful environment in places.
The final song, a new morning breaks, is a fascinating one, with a mood tricky to pin down. There is dynamism aplenty and a great use of space, with bright scrapes coming across like windchimes in places, suggesting quietude. But then a persistent note beneath the playing brings in a distinct sense of unease to the music… It’s very clever, thought-provoking music.
low clouds hang, this land is on fire is such a beguiling album; the music is gentle and beautiful in places, yet you know there are turbulent emotions beneath the surface. Some of the playing briefly reminds you of this, but then there is the clean space around much of it that brings in more lightness. It is also both a spot-on companion piece and stark contrast to both Stateless and we will be wherever the fires are lit. Only an artist with perfect control of their medium could bring so much meaning into and invite so much interpretation from solo guitar music. This is spellbinding and significant; Tashi Dorji operating at the highest level.
Source: klofmag.com