Renowned six-string virtuoso Shane Parish has appeared on these pages quite a bit in recent years, spanning from acoustic explorations like translating Autechre and Aphex Twin tunes for guitar to electric pursuits such as the Bill Orcutt Guitar Quartet. We also ran into him last month at Philadelphia’s Making Time ∞ festival, where it seemed he was grappling with health concerns. Consequently, a fresh Shane Parish album arrives today without fanfare.
I’ll let Parish explain:
To be frank, another record wasn’t on my docket for this year. While I was in Philadelphia to perform at Making Time around mid-September, the left side of my face suddenly swelled during lunch. I rushed to urgent care and, thankfully, made it back to the Fort Mifflin festival grounds in time for my set. The show felt deeply transcendent. When I got home, though, I faced dental work totaling more than $5,000. With that expense looming, I started up my home studio with the intention of producing something quick to offset the cost. Instead, within a few days, a small, cohesive album began to take shape.
Dental Work features Parish on electric guitar, but it’s not the same as the blistering chaos of his work with Orcutt. Instead, using a loop pedal, he crafted heavily percussive, cyclical instrumentals that he likens to his work in the duo Ahleuchatistas, as well as his 2022 album Liverpool. I’m particularly drawn to the volume-knob tricks he deploys on “Mage’s Boogie,” which evoke eerie bird calls over the palm-muted pulse. “In some ways, it feels like a subtler successor to Autechre Guitar, and I suspect listeners who found me through that album will recognize a similar sensibility here,” Parish writes.
Below, see if you agree — and if you do, consider tossing a few dollars Parish’s way on Bandcamp. This dental work isn’t going to pay for itself.
