Janer Feder: T H I S C L O S E

BEST OF 2015
6
HCTF

Composers for prepared guitar are pretty rare outside the avant-garde. Janet Feder from Boulder, Colorado, is one of those rare breed, serving up challenging but accessible tunes. Mind you, it will still scare the shit out mainstream afficionados, but jazz cats, Kaki King fans and progressive rock geeks should take note of her output.

Her latest album T H I S C L O S E is a sonic expedition, playing instruments in an unorthodox fashion, focusing on textures and melody as equals. Feder picks her single notes carefully, sprinkling them on top of drone like tapestries (No Apology() or striking up a conversation with a jazzy piano (You As Part Of A Whole). The sparse, mostly acoustic She Sleeps With The Sky is a 101 for a complex composition dressing up as deceptively simple showcase. The layered, repetitive motives of the title track are an endurance test that pays of handsomely, with forays into Krautrock and Eno-esque sculpted percussion.

Feder is a guitarist's guitarist first, but a track like Angles & Exits with its Parisian accordion and sad vocals might sneak into the playlist of a late night radio show or the soundtrack of independent movie.

Janet Feder: baritone guitars, electric guitar, banjo, voice, plucked piano, prepared hammer dulcimer, sounds
Todd Bilsborough: percussion
Kal Cahoone: backing vocal, accordion
Marc Dalio: percussion
Elaine DiFalco: accordion
Mike Fitzmaurice: double bass, bass harmonica
Paul Fowler: piano (inside & out), voice
Mark Harris: bass clarinet
Amy Shelley: percussion
Joe Shepard: studio door
Mike Yach: electric guitar, bass, cymbaled spring

T H I S C L O S E is a self-released album (SACD, vinyl, digital). Buy it from their website. The Super Audio Compact Disc SACD is a hybrid disc that plays in either 5.1 surround sound or stereo, depending on the listener's playback system.

Tracks:

1. Crows
2. Ticking Time Bomb
3. Happy Everyday, Me
4. No Apology
5. Happy Everyday, You
6. You As Part Of A Whole
7. Angles & Exits
8. She Sleeps With The Sky
9. T H I S C L O S E

» janetfeder.com