Favorite Records Entry #98
October 7, 2009
Mark McGuire ~ Open Chords
The merits of ambient music are hard to evaluate, sometimes, a record will take years to sit right with someone, other times, it clicks immediately. Open Chords, one of the many releases from the prolific Mark McGuire (No, not the baseball player) and it falls neatly into the latter category. Mark McGuire himself is a newcomer to music, and along with his band members in Emeralds, only now is he starting to receive critical attention, mostly for his work with Emeralds. It’s interesting, while a lot of musicians are already established by the time you catch wind of them, perhaps the most rewarding thing is watching the evolution of a musician as his or her career progresses. McGuire has proven himself to be one of the best ambient guitarists out there at the moment, and he keeps on moving forward, developing facets in his personal sound and incorporating it into his work with Emeralds.
Open Chords is a relatively short, two-track tape McGuire put out some time early in 2008. The tape represents some of Mcguire’s loveliest, most euphoric music to date. The music builds elegantly, layer by layer of acoustic guitar builds on each other, and each new layer is stunningly clear. The clarity of McGuire’s playing and ability to build rhythms and melodies are two of his strongest talents as an artist, and Open Chords is thus far, the best representation of those talents. Each song winds and twists along a road, and the ears follow, each detail ingrained upon the memory. To be hummed along with upon further listens.
