Immortal Light by Buck Curran

A debut album from Buck Curran comes with 8 tracks of different length.

Known for his work with Arborea where him and Shanti Deschaine created a transparent formula of songs that moved beyond the cliche of folk rock and psychedelic folk, here he presents his master class of skills and talents as a solo musician.

First track Wayfaring Summer (Reprise) moves away the starting point gently with the acoustic lead and almost invisible subtle banjo which I mistook for the piano. The lyricism of this track is undeniably helpful to understand the magic that Curran can create.

Second track gives us a bit of a glimpse into his vocal abilities, backed up by the appearance of his Arborea partner - Shanti. Transparent guitar and vocal harmonies of both  with a subtle touch of harmonium are featured in this track and New Moontide and Immortal Light where Shanti takes up the lead vocals as well.

Third track - Sea of Polaris helps the listener to understand where you could place Buck in terms of his electric guitar. I fell in a trap of categorizing him into evocative melancholic lyricism of Ry Cooder but there is much more to what he has done than just this comparison alone.

Sometimes the phrasing and the way he combines his own vocals is really a high bar - the example is the fourth track - Seven Gardens to Your Shore. 

River Unto Sea is a subtle prompt to see him more than just a musician with a guitar but a mature artist who is able to create a lot of nuances through his compositional skills.

The whole album made me realize one very important thing - it is about pacing and grading the means and tools you have as an artist to create things that are both useful for you in terms of creating what you desire but also creating and outlet for grasping the momentum of emotions, feelings, and ideas into one organism that helps to embellish the elements of all the things combined into one viable entity. This is a difficult task. Yet, Buck Curran never fails this.

A great invitation to the wider big opening, this album... 

released October 28, 2016

Buck Curran: vocals, guitars, harmonium, flute, banjo.

Shanti Deschaine: backup vocals on "New Moontide" and "Bad Moon Rising," featured lead vocals and harmonium on "Immortal Light."

 bandcamp link