12″ Edition of 32. Numbered. Risograph printed loose leaf cover and back art printed at Looky Here in Greenfield, MA. Youtube Archive.

OUT OF PRINT

Recorded on the evening of Friday June 12, 2020, at his home in Brighton MA, this lathe documents a spellbinding instrumental set by master musician, Joseph Allred. 

The first piece is side-long exploration of the guitar based on a Robbie Basho piece called “Tassajara” (from The Falconer’s Arm I). But Allred’s approach feels less tense, and a bit looser, which always seems like a good thing to. The second piece is a vocal accompanied  by harmonium. A bit like some of the material on his most recent Feeding Tube LP, Michael (FTR 532), there is a deeply spiritual quality to the tune, that suggests both New England’s psaltery traditions as well as Eastern drone singing. This is followed by a brilliant bramble of guitar textures, with notes dodging through each other’s holes like jackalopes on meth. For his last selection Joseph returns to harmonium and voice for “Idumaea,” which is a lovely, if somewhat mournful way to go out. 

To our way of thinking, Joseph Allred is one of the great players and musical thinkers of his generation. Can’t wait for his next one.

-Byron Coley, 2020