Eli Winter – Unbecoming
Americans Dreams Records – 21 August 2020
Just a year after putting out an assured debut in the shape of The Time to Come, young guitarist Eli Winter has followed up with Unbecoming, a far more ambitious recording, which fills the entire first side with a solo acoustic epic that immediately shows how far this player has already come. Much like Gwenifer Raymond’s You Never Were Much of a Dancer, The Time to Come was a confident and entertaining outing but one that felt at times like a demonstration of the player’s journey thus far. Unbecoming is, as the title suggests, a distillation of these skills and influences and the sound indeed feels like an arrival record of sorts. That’s not to say the influences aren’t clear; there are a wealth of guitarists whose names can be tossed around when describing this album. Jack Rose is prominent throughout the twenty-two-minute opener Either I Would Become Ash, particularly in the pauses and tempo shifts; as is later Daniel Bachman for very similar reasons.
Eli’s ability to slow the tune up and let the notes drone and repeat bring to mind Rose’s Raag Manifestos and Bachman’s River and Daniel Bachman albums, but there is also a decent dose of Basho in there in places; fifteen minutes into Ash, Eli plays some beautiful lighter notes beneath the more prominent thumbed strings that are reminiscent of Basho at his gentlest. Ash is a lovely piece to get lost in and I would have been happy with a whole album of its meandering, changeable sound, but the other two tracks making up the second side contrast it nicely and make for a more interesting and varied recording. Maroon (premiered here) sees Eli expand into full band territory for the first time, with drums, pedal steel and second guitar accompanying his electric. The mood here is almost joyous in comparison with the more challenging Either I would Become Ash and the melody and tune structure is far clearer, resulting in an uplifting piece and a beautifully played one that could be off of a William Tyler album.
Dark Light is a live recording that has Eli going solo again and sticking with the electric, played with subtle amp sound that puts a little more meat on its bones. Although Ash is a more ambitious piece, Dark Light has patience and a quiet menace that lends it an air of confidence. Later Fahey sprang to mind here in a good way; Eli is experimenting and perhaps improvising in places and it all gives the song a looseness and unpredictability that counter-balances the tightly played Maroon very well. The audience sounds also separate this one further and, although the three pieces making up Unbecoming sit together very well, they are different enough to make them fascinating in their own right and very bold as an album. Unbecoming indeed, this one is a huge leap forward for Eli, it has plenty of guts and spirit and is musically rich and challenging. Excellent stuff.
Order via Bandcamp: https://eliwinter.bandcamp.com/album/unbecoming-2
Photo Credit: Gabriel Barron