Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Shane Parish: Undertaker Please Drive Slow

22

Shane Parish: Undertaker Please Drive Slow

By

Sign in to view read count
Shane Parish: Undertaker Please Drive Slow
Guitarist Shane Parish has amassed a strong following due to his affiliation with the ultra-progressive band Ahleuchatistas, known for its impossibly complex unison song-forms, neo-psyche, fuzoid-metal or as his website states: ..."almost like Fugazi meets Captain Beefheart." These days Parish and percussionist Ryan Oslance are performing under the Aleuchatistas moniker as a duo, while dishing out avant-rock sonic-scapes that touch upon numerous genres and then some. Besides the guitarist's other collaborations that usually push the proverbial envelope, he puts the metal down for this solo acoustic guitar set, performing public domain works at a cabin in beautiful Asheville, N.C.

With this outing, Parish advises that "Undertaker is performed in real time with no edits. I relaxed into my own voice and simply followed my breath." In addition, this recording caught the attention of new music and experimental New York-based composer, saxophonist and producer John Zorn who promptly released the album on his Tzadik record label. This factor alone would provide a hint that the music is not your plain old vanilla type fare, as the guitarist is by no means going through the motions here.

Parish employs disparate tunings amid some existential interpretations of these time-honored slices of Americana. On the country-blues piece "Trouble Will Soon Be Over," he places emphasis on the lead lines while plucking hard, where you hear every slide scratch, nip and tuck. But he leaps into the following track "Judgment," with contrasting chord clusters and bass notes via a finger-style approach, spiced with a resonating melodic hook, and countered by some unorthodox treatments. Moreover, Parish uses space to let sub-motifs breathe, intertwined with notions of organic minimalism.

"John Hardy" features ringing harmonic output and moments of solstice. Whereas "Oh Death" and "The Maid Freed From The Gallows" are densely wrought folk-isms, complete with softly strutting flows, tinted with a stout constitution. Thus, Parish's deeply personalized spin on roots music transcends any semblances of playing it safe. More importantly, he establishes a musical conduit that pays homage to tradition while unlocking new passageways, enacted with the utmost sincerity.

Track Listing

Ain t No Grave; Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground; Danville Gal; Trouble Will Soon Be Over; Judgment; The Last Kind Words; I Hope I Live a Few More Days; John Hardy; Hangman; Katie Cruel; Can't Nobody Hide From God; Oh Death; The Maid; Freed From the Gallows; Will the Circle Be Unbroken; Murder's Home

Personnel

Shane Parish: guitar.

Album information

Title: Undertaker Please Drive Slow | Year Released: 2017 | Record Label: Tzadik

Comments

Tags

Concerts

Apr 29 Mon

For the Love of Jazz
Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

You Can Help
To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Love Is Passing Thru
Roberto Magris
Candid
Sunny Five
Inside Colours Live
Julie Sassoon

Popular

Eagle's Point
Chris Potter
Light Streams
John Donegan - The Irish Sextet

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.