Search - Mick Turner :: Marlan Rosa

Known for his low-key loveliness in Australia's Dirty Three, guitarist Mick Turner takes a solo turn (he plays all the instruments except for the whispery violin scratches in a few tracks) on this gently gurgling album. While the Dirty Three can be a roiling, passionate experience, Turner's work here is much more restful. Plucking only fragments of melody from his strings, the guitarist fills out his sound with gentle tone washes, wriggly bits of string bending, small drum bumps and cymbal taps, slight hints of organ and bass, and what could be suggestions of melodica, keyboards, and bass. Not that it matters. This entire CD is so unruffled that every part fades into a whole, making this a guitar record that functions much more along the lines of an ambient listening experience than of a showplace for song structure or virtuoso soloing. Regardless, these handsomely rugged pieces manage to impart a translucent glow that, after a few listens, becomes radiant. --S. Duda