Morning/mourning
Cacophonous, 2021
9/10
The Canadian-American guitarist Jessica Ackerley has recently been involved in some well received collaboration albums, and here she returns with a solo effort where her stunning guitar vision unfolds with an ambient, exploratory and atypical version of jazz.
Ackerley starts the album with the hypnotic manipulation of “Henry”, where a warm presence aligns with mysteriousness in her dizzying, avant-garde approach, and “Inner Automation” continues the creativity with quivering and playful dynamics, but also lands in calmer areas of flowing beauty, too.
Deeper into the listen, “Departure Into Sound Memory” has Ackerley plucking her guitar in very unusual and alluring ways, while “mourning” displays swift chord progressions amid firm strumming that gets a bit intense. “Untitled 3” then moves calmly, with much emotion, initially, before segueing into some fascinating free jazz that’s as charming as it is complicated.
Rounding out the listen are “Coaxial II” and “Morning”, where the former shifts unpredictably in Ackerley’s meticulous demeanor, and the latter exits on a bare, reflective and heartfelt moment of sublime songwriting.
Recorded over 4 years at various times, Ackerley sorts through the grieving process of losing two of her mentors, Vic Juris and Bobby Cairns, and she honors the influence they had on her craft with radiant, inimitable and intimate song craft that makes an immediate and lasting impression.
Travels well with: Van Stiefel- Spirits; Collage Project- Off Brand