The Artist/Album: Jon Porras, Black Mesa (Thrill Jockey, 2012)
Our Review: Like Dylan Carlson’s latter-day manifestation of Earth, Jon Porras’ work with Barn Owl has often felt like a painterly take on Neil Young’s wildly expressive Dead Man soundtrack. His second solo album furthers that approach with flare-chased guitar chords, improv-infused arrangements and tumble weed tropes that tell the story of an outlaw “who ventures deep into the desert only to discover the Black Mesa, a bridge between worlds…the desert counterpart to David Lynch’s Black Lodge, an entrance into cavernous mystery.”
Judging by the way his journey ends–wandering through wordless cries and pillows of smoky feedback on “Beyond the Veil”–this mystery can’t be good, but hey, at least it amounts to a lonesome effort that’s on par with Porras’ other gig.
Available At: Amazon · Insound · iTunes
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