Duncan Park / - Path To The Gallows
Record Crates United
Duncan Park’s latest effort is like an audio diary of the musical passages that slide through his mind, and out of whatever instrument is closest at hand.
Throughout the album, you’re treated to intricate classical fingerpicking, banjo and flute meditations and dazzling solo guitar fantasias. With a crispy warm lo-fi sound and the fumbling start-stop of a handheld tape recorder often bookending the tracks, this, the 9th proper full-length record by the South Africa-based artist, gives the impression that you’re listening to a demo tape. While all of the songs sound complete and finished, the intimacy and roughened production give the record a private quality, almost as if these pieces weren’t initially intended to reach the ears of the public. It’s like these songs were instead recorded in haste, because they arrived at the artist in a very specific moment in time, and if he didn’t capture them to tape, they would never be heard again. You feel lucky to be able to listen to these performances in their current state.
This album is a total tour de force of Park’s exquisite musical chops, especially the guitar tracks. On songs like the opening cut, “A Moon Possessed Corpse,” Park’s dazzling finger stylings are shreddy, busy and lightning fast, which might make some listeners check to make sure that their turntables weren’t set at 78 RPM.
When it comes to fingerpicking and the general American Primitive sound, Park is clearly one of the best of his generation, and this record is only the latest example as to why. Check it out here to get the album digitally, or you can find it on vinyl via Carbon Records or Feeding Tube Records.
