#vhf

Drew Gardner - Wave Field / Universal Light - Universal Light

What are those Elkhorn boys up to these days? I'm sure there's something awesome in the works — but in the meantime, Drew Gardner and Jesse Sheppard have some other irons in the fire.

First up, is Gardner's latest solo LP Wave Field, which sees him returning to the sweet full-band jams of Flowers in Space from a few years back. Indeed, the same ace rhythm section of bassist Andy Cush and drummer Ryan Jewell returns here, along with the inspired addition of Cush's fellow Garcia People, guitarist Tom Malach. The five instrumental tracks here are free-flowing and groove-heavy, all four players getting plenty of space to lock in and zone out. There's a slinky, Ege Bamyasi-esque feel that rises to the top at several moments ... always a good thing! And the relentless motorik pulse that Jewell supplies on "Space Ray" has to be heard to be believed.

Meanwhile, Elkhorn 12-stringer Sheppard is one-third of the new Universal Light group, joining Pelt / Black Twig Picker fiddler Mike Gangloff and cellist / harmonium-ist / vocalist Kaily Schenker for an extremely satisfying LP of mystic mountain acoustic drone. The four pieces on their self-titled debut unspool at a patient, meditative pace, various strings resonating and keening into the open air. This stuff feels as old as the hills, but somehow also as fresh as an Appalachian spring breeze. It all culminates in the traditional “The Squirrel is a Pretty Thing,” the trio finding a wondrous one-ness over the course of 12 deep minutes.

For Mike Gangloff, music is a communal affair. He tends to make it with other people — in bands such as Pelt, Eight Point Star, Universal Light, and Black Twig Pickers, or in duos with C. Joynes, Steve Gunn and Cara Gangloff. April Is Passing is, like its predecessor Evening Measures, a solo record made by three people. Gangloff plays Hardanger fiddle throughout, accompanied by his spouse Cara on sruiti box and Kailey Schenker, his bandmate in Universal Light, on cello.