Since 2007 the present, 24 year old Mark McGuire has amassed a back catalogue which includes some 25 or so releases; a staggering amount for an artist his age. A good half of these are covered on A Young Persons Guide……, with tracks ranging from bright to dark, acoustic to electric. His weapon of choice is guitar, building it into loops and then laying solos over the top in an unassuming style, constructing tapestries of sometimes delicate complexity.
Opening the first disc with “Dream Team’, a 17 minute excursion into single chord fuzz jam, McGuire weaves distorted lead runs and shifting notes in the background, carefully building texture. Moaned vocals make an appearance as the fuzz peels back slightly, before closing in again as the track seemingly filters off like a faded polaroid, revealing a bubbling synthesizer which could have been there the whole time, buried in the din. “The Marfa Lights’ is a skittery and buoyant affair, all plucked notes and timed delay trails. As the loops build on one another, fuzz and synth make their inevitable entrance, riding over the top in lightly phased glory. Reverse swells of guitar glide through “Slipstreams’, as simple chordal notes hold a base, while on “Flight’, shadowy single notes sees fuzzy leads pervade into a sliced up outro. “Ghosts Around a Tree’ begins with spooky tape loops before guitars pluck and strum different loops and refrains, building and fading into the second half, a simple and effective downtempo riff, with an equally simple clean solo laid atop. “The Path Lined With Colourful Stones’ has the first evidence of acoustic guitar, loops of like chords swelling and rolling, while “The Wind on the Winding Road Pt ll’ closes the disc in a similar but far more upbeat fashion.
Disc 2 follows a similar modus operandi as its predecessor. However, it seems this second disc is more focused on cleaner guitar tones and more experimental composition styles and sounds. “Radio Flyer’ leads with a clean guitar, delayed, layered and looped over itself until it transforms into a different entity. “The Lonesome Foghorn Blows’ enters with synth-like tones and modulations, before leaving with palm-muted chords, while the aptly titled country tinged “Sun Shining Through the Open Barn Door’ is a pleasant, sunny affair, all acoustic guitar and gliding solos underpinned by gentle synth notes. “Skies’ sits alone as a drone styled piece, swelling with panned blasts of fuzz and legato single notes. “Over the Water’ begins with a looped passage, which is in turn joined by filtered versions of the same notes, building in texture. “Inside Where It’s Warm’ closes the edition with a nostalgic sounding mix of acoustic and electric passages blending together in a reflective fashion.
Although alot of the tracks may sound similar, there’ enough tonal differences here to prevent it becoming monotonic. Fans of guitar artists who favour simplicity over wankfest virtuosity would be advised to find some of Mark’ work. Highly rewarding.
Nick Giles
