Only 100 copies of Same Animal, Different Cages Vol. 1: Études for Acoustic Guitar exist on green vinyl, and I’d hate for you to miss out on this one; I’ll just say that right up front. David First devotes two full slabs of wax to solo dirges that plumb every last crevice of his weeping, whinnying steel six-string. It’s serious, academic almost, so even John Fahey freaks will have some adjusting to do once the spareness of the landscape sets in like a desert fog. That’s exactly the beauty of it, that tension between doing too little and giving away too much. First flaunts his chops every so often, but mostly he keeps the mystery high and the complications low. The flow is unmistakeable, evoking every tired tumbleweed comparison coughed up by slapdash music scribes yet resembling a ghost town more than anything, dusty and full of holes. I’m going to be expected to reference certain artists here, and I’m not willing to go down that road. Same Animal, Different Cages Vol. 1: Études for Acoustic Guitar, which, as you might guess, is the first in a series of can’t-miss First explorations, is the whole package, replete with twisted, bent-to-hell strings and improbable choices. Really stoked on this one, a winning return to vinyl for Fabrica Records, whose tape releases set the tone for this album perfectly. Stay out-of-tuned for the next four.
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