Zak Riles, lead guitarist for the prolific Grails, melds idioms and instrumentation of traditional American and Middle Eastern music in his main gig, so it shouldn't be any surprise that he would adopt this approach on his self-titled debut. The results, however, are decidedly mixed: while the album finds Riles playing as assuredly as ever, it also shows him relying on unnecessary and awkward crutches that ultimately depreciate the record.
Book-ending the album with two decidedly American-sounding songs seems like it would lead to disjointedness, but the sequencing actually lends Zak Riles a dreamy feel. Opener “Pacific Siren,” with its deft fingerpicking and relatively traditional domestic chord progressions, immediately recalls John Fahey’s The Transfiguration of Blind Joe Death. From there, a lengthy desert sojourn begins: “Confluence” feels even more Eastern than a lot of Grails’ work, and “Sand/Silk Rd Origin” combines Americana slide guitar with a monolithic drum stomp fitting for a trek across the desert under an unforgiving sun. “Res Extensa,” meanwhile, teases the traveler with an oasis hinted at by the cool sound of a vibraphone that’s subsequently consumed shortly after by a sandstorm of gritty distortion. When the listener reaches “Chloe,” a subdued, mid-tempo surf-rock ode to Riles’ wife, the dream is over, and the traveler wakes up on a familiar shores.
What's frustrating, and often annoying, about Zak Riles is the guitarist’s awkward integration of field recordings. Just as the album cover screams “this is authentic” -- his name in printed in faux-Arabic script -- Riles will occasionally insert predictable field recordings, like the muted sound of waves softly lapping on a beach, a quiet air-raid siren right in the middle of “Pacific Siren” (of course), and a gentle thunderstorm heard from indoors on “Chloe.” Perhaps it’s supposed to be charming, but it feels awfully polished and fabricated, like those sounds of nature+____ albums for sale in drug stores.
Had Riles actually recorded “on location,” the incidental sounds might have been beneficial rather than a detriment to his solid songwriting and masterful playing. But as is, the listener is unfortunately left with an album that tries so hard to signify authenticity, while not giving enough credit to the listener to visualize the music on their own.
1. Pacific Siren
2. Confluence
3. Sand / Silk Rd. Origian
4. Res Extensa
5. Before the Refuge
6. Slack Key
7. Chloe
More about: Zak Riles
