There is always a sense of eager anticipation when an artist formerly known for their virtuosic electric guitar background decides to turn to the acoustic guitar for a solo effort. Such is the case with Jason McMahon who has been associated with bands such as Skeletons, Glasser, Janka Nabay and Chairlift. In contrast to what has gone before, his solo album Odd West is something else entirely.
The accompanying press describes the album as “all written in one tuning that he set arbitrarily and took care not to map out, it’s almost like entering a slightly alternate reality where a folk music tradition you’d never heard had been developing for decades.” Listen to ‘Book of Knots’ below (our Song of the Day) and you can hear that experimental feel, of an artist letting go, something that won’t be lost on fans of American Primitivism where the players often appear to be in a trance-like state of meditation when playing. That personal release he must have felt when he decided to take an extended break from touring to focus on solo work and his personal life is also present in this music. There’s a spontaneous beauty to the music that’s impossible not to be lifted and carried by when listening. It feels incredibly honest a reflection maybe on the intent behind the work…
…he apparently began writing it for a family reunion in his native state of Colorado…what an incredible gift that was and a remarkably personal statement.
A Book of Knots can teach you not just how to tie knots, but also how to untie knots: you just have to read the book backwards. If you tie a knot and can’t untie it, does that make you good or bad at knots?
Odd West is released on 20 January 2020 via SHINKOYO, of which McMahon is a founding member.
Pre-Order Odd West via Bandcamp
Photo Credit: Kristina Loggia