Jon Gomm – ‘Dance Of The Last Rhino’ [Review]
Opening with a scratchy guitar body groove and winding its way through percussive harmonics, slinky melodies, and thick, earthy riffs, Dance of the Last Rhino is exactly the kind of awe-inspiring instrumental guitar masterpiece we’ve come to expect from Jon Gomm. The above compositional elements aren’t layered in a multi-tracked sense, but performed simultaneously. If you’re new to Jon Gomm’s world, then welcome – and whether you’re a newbie or superfan, you know you need to check out the video below… Read more…
Trevor Gordon Hall is not so much a guitarist as a master craftsman. On Mind Heart Fingers, Hall lays a set of twelve prime pieces out in the sun for the world to see – and the world is better off for his efforts. Add to Hall’s innate and tasteful sense of musicality an exotic instrument in the shape of his trusty kalimbatar, and you have something really special. 
Candyrat Records is not so much a label as a seal of guaranteed quality and exotic innovation. In kalimbatarist Trevor Gordon Hall’s case, exoticism is clearly the name of the game, and Surviving Ordinary Days bubbles with spicy bliss and seethes with a technique so advanced and emotionally engaging that it’s almost enough to make you want to cut off your own hands. If you like your acoustic music to travel as far from stuck-in-the-mud traditionalism as possible, need something to get you through depressingly ordinary wintery days, and/or are wondering just what the hell a kalimbatar actually is, just press play. 
What do you get if you cross Brandon Boyd’s lyricism, an idiosyncratic yet familiarly contemporary male pop vocal, a touch of Biffy Clyro’s more commercially-oriented song structures, and a little Jon Gomm-esque acoustic work? Well…this. Into Color manage to take so many disparate parts and fuse them into something appealing in a pop sense, yet sufficiently inventive to attract the praise of the most hard-bitten muso. Once again, they deserve massive respect for another solid step in the right – and a fresh and exciting – new direction. 
Amid endless seas of wannabes trapped in a quicksand composed of hollow and lifeless MIDI sequences, Submotion Orchestra have long stood out by a fair few light years. Their recordings consistently ooze warmth and a vital humanity – and Alium continues this trend in impressive and impactful fashion. 
A friend recently asked me to write a review describing an awful band as a “shit sandwich” – and when Sweet Deals On Surgery offered up this EP in exchange for a brief review regardless of which words I might choose, I expected to wind up satisfying both parties. Unfortunately, the former will have to wait a while longer – because as scrappy and unkempt as Total Reek Hole is, it’s just as equally enjoyable. 
Off-kilter electronica, bottomless grooves, elegantly plaintive vocals, soul-based yet uniquely emotive vibes – Trust/Lust is a prime Submotion Orchestra cut backed up by the sparsely luscious Swan Song. Together, these tracks combine to form a perfect teaser package that drops on November 17th, one week ahead of third Submotion Orchestra LP Alium. 
Over the past few decades, the instrumental guitar community has done little to silence its critics, the “It’s all just wanking over a lame backing track” lot. With Atomic Mind, Nick Johnston is coming to the rescue – and his efforts definitely deserve acknowledgement.