Sharpeye - Beyond the Realm of Reason LP (2012)

Haunting and hypnotic guitarscapes conjure some true thematic magic all up Beyond the Realm of Reason, a truly outstanding and, in my experience, instantly addicting debut LP from San Francisco guitarsman Sharpeye. This is the name covering the solo guitar recordings and performances of Max Gardner, who also constitutes one-third of SF post-pastoral psych trio Metacomet.

Beyond follows on two live recordings which have excited fans of catatonically chill sonic psychedelia for the past several months. As the first full-on studio effort to come from the Sharpeye project, this record is a remarkable one. The sparse, warm and roomy recording allows Gardner's droning and looping guitar themes to shine forth in full. In this wordless, smooth sonic space, the atmospheric melodies evoke a sort of paralyzing grandiosity, drama bordering on the Baroque. Yet this is a simpler and harder kind of grandeur, it is the grandiosity of the barely-populated desert landscape, not the ornamentation of pre-modern opulence. This is music that is all about conjuring otherworldly atmospherice experiences from a language of sound that is at once unique and endlessly referential. It executes this task masterfully.

Everything else you need to know is up on the Bandcamp. Enjoy.