Spirits
Panoramic, 2021
9/10
A composer and guitarist who pays very specific attention to his craft, Van Stiefel tips his hat to legends like Glen Campbell, Les Paul, and Chet Atkins on this instrumental and expertly layered affair that showcases his inimitable vision.
“King Of Cups” starts the listen with a dreamy lap slide melody amid warm pedal manipulation as plenty of atmosphere is present, and “Solace” follows with 2 minutes of subdued beauty that uses space and sophistication with much skill.
Closer to the halfway point, “Spirits” glides with mystery and intimacy that’s both sublime and awe inspiring, while “Pink Cloud” recruits a percussive quality into the dark and alluring climate. “Ghost Flare”, a particularly interesting track, then mixes longer acoustic samples with the meticulous electric guitar for a unique duet.
Near to the end, “Jewel Tree” offers a hypnotic landscape of tremolo techniques in the electric guitar duet, and “Ground” exits the listen and showcases 5 guitars utilized in fascinating, timeless ways.
With songs as long at 11 minutes and as short as less than 2 minutes, there’s much diversity to be found here, as Stiefel brings something distinctive to each composition, including computer generated sounds, piano samples and no shortage of harmony and rhythm that make for a well spent hour of listening.
Travels well with: Collage Project- Off Brand; David Liptak- Dove Songs