Gunn, Trey: The Waters, They Are Rising

Former member of King Crimson and bass/touch guitar specialist Trey Gunn released his first solo album One Thousand Years way back in 1994. His new album The Waters, They Are Rising is his eighth release overall.

Besides touch guitar the only other credits are keyboards (track 1) and the vocals of Dylan Nichole Bandy (tracks 1 and 9).

The music presented on The Waters, They Are Rising is both ambient and avant-garde and not an album to 'rock out' to. Even though the soundscapes are quite minimalistic there is enough happening musically to warrant a few spins.

The first track "Not Dark Yet", originally penned by Bob Dylan is a beautifully haunting remake filled with soothing waves of touch guitar and gentle keyboard soundscapes. The vocals of Dylan Bandy are smooth and serene, a nice compliment to Gunn's ethereal textures. The four part "Flood", recorded live and based on Gabriel's "Here Comes The Flood", are experimental pieces both moody and atmospheric with "part IV" being my favourite as the mood is spacier and just a little unsettling as deeper percussive-like sounds add a menacing aura. "Three Days" and "The Seven Who Were Saved" are a little more melodic but still no less ambient than the rest whereas "The Beautiful Umbrella" and "Odra" move very cautiously and are as minimal as the album gets with slow sustained waves of sound entering and exiting the soundscape.

Trey Gunn is a very talented and versatile musician. While The Waters, They Are Rising is clearly not for everyone, those searching for the more serene and atmospheric will want to add this to their collection. The album can be purchased form the artist's Bandcamp page, see link below. Released on 7d Media.

Track Listing:
1. Not Dark Yet
2. Flood I – Live In Montreal (March 7, 2014)
3. Three Days
4. The Seven Who Were Saved
5. Flood IV – Live In Huntington NY (March 14, 2014)
6. The Beautiful Umbrella
7. Flood II – Live In Quebec City (March 8, 2014)
8. Odra
9. The Last Wave
10. Flood III – Live In Boston MA (March 10, 2014)
11. The First Return

Added: July 20th 2015
Reviewer: Jon Neudorf
Score:
Related Link: Artist's Bandcamp Page
Hits: 1944
Language: english

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