No Love Is Sorrow by Buck Curran

 

Third solo album by Buck Curran whom we have known from Arborea comes both as a vinyl and a cd. 

A bit longer cd and vinyl that contains tracks 1-10 and the rest as a download.

With 16 tracks altogether we have quite an array of different moods, soundscapes, poetic momentums here. The introduction - Blue Raga is a hefty introduction where you are being drawn to the mesmerizing inner landscape of Curran's music - it is both introspective and subtle.

Ghost on the Hill sounds like a classic tale of a spiritual encounter that is taken out of the mythical space and transported to a modern folk modal. 

Next track - "No love is sorrow" lets us see Buck as an experimentalists who can do acoustic solo with some electric overtones. Deep in the Lovin' Arms of My Babe is a subtle and tender love song that doesn't leave out the melancholy and sadness that is visceral and quite deep. On the outside it may seem like a folk song but there is so much going on in the undercurrent. Buck's work with alternate tunings between his tracks is just astounding.

Track nr 6 - Odissea brings a bit more gentle and pleasantly compelling feel to the scene and Adele's voice definitely helps with it.

A bit more personal touch with "For Adele" doesn't sway his composing skills that keep everything together when it comes to ingenuity and being true to his style but also - which is quite unusual as with all the personal themes in music- introduces the main theme through some special means - the way how Buck works with pause and silence here is poignant.

...and then comes a surprise. Django which is his debut as a piano player. A minimalistic approach that makes you think of the masters like Debussy and Satie but with his individual style - a cascade of subtle melancholy and diverse themes closed in one. 

His next track - One Evening is a perfect combo of electric and acoustic guitar as well as introducing a solid tell tale narrative with a much needed spoken word part which he elegantly weans into the whole track. Chromaticle which comes after that is a very abstract and experimental track which makes me think of Robbie Basho, Jandek, John Fahey but still with the individual touch that Buck puts here is undeniably his own style. And further along War Behind The Sun - an evocative track where electric guitar played sets the whole tone and the character of the track. This one is a sure shot in terms of a great material for a soundtrack. Expressive, deep and dramatic at the same time

Instrumental Lucia is a somewhat relieving and cheerful theme that locks down the whole album followed by four alternate versions of previous tracks.

A deeply personal and philosophical album that transfigures all the personal experiences into something meaningful and insightful. Along with Curran's talent as a guitar player and a composer, there is simply no weak point here.  

released November 6, 2020

Buck Curran - vocals, acoustic and electric guitars, EBow, piano

Adele Pappalardo - additional vocals

Dipak Kumar Chakraborty - Tabla on "Blue Raga"

Bandcamp link