Review: Harris Newman - Decorated

Posted on 24 April 2008 | No Comments

Filed Under: Album Reviews, Folk

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Despite the title of Canadian acoustic guitarist Harris Newman’s third album Decorated there isn’t much extraneous ornamentation or decoration aside from Newman’s own guitar. It is a great (and mostly solo) exploration of hypnotic steel-string modalities that walk the line between improvisational avant-garde meandering and pleasantly captivating nearly new age folk-isms. His wonderfully fingerpicked runs ebb and flow like the water of a cold clear stream cascading over exposed rocks on its way into something larger. It is beautiful but unsettling and filled with a tension that seems like it could break or spiral out of control at almost any minute. Mostly in the same realm as guys like Jack Rose or John Fahey, but on tracks such as “Blues for Vilhelm” find Newman playing with experimental dronescapes and even adding a drummer on the electrified “Opera House Stomp.” Decorated resonates with me and works in both the foreground and background. Great stuff.

MP3 | Harris Newman – Decorated Decorated