The lead single from Welsh fingerstyle instrumental guitar champion Gwenifer Raymond references Jack Parsons, an American Thelemite occultist and rocket engineer, who died aged 37 in a home laboratory explosion. Jack Parsons Blues, a double thumb-picked piece of sturdy and complex guitar prowess, with Gwenifer’s signature minor key flourishes, odd little notes here and there and an exhilarating sprint in the mid-section, is a decent introduction to the thinking behind her third album, Last Night I Heard the Dog Star Bark.
The fusing themes at play here are folk horror and the macabre, which Gwenifer has been exploring since she dropped You Never Were Much of a Dancer in 2018 (2020’s Strange Lights over Garth Mountain developed this further and even more successfully), plus the upwards gazing of the cosmos and futurism. It feels in many ways like a natural progression and a broadening of the subjects that have interested Gwenifer’s past sound. “It’s similar and different,” she tells us. “I think Strange Lights had more of a gothic folk horror sort of vibe, but Last Night I Heard the Dog Star Bark is really founded in cosmic horror and science fiction ideas. At least that’s what it sounds like in my head.”
The combined themes are heard immediately on the opening song Banjo Players of Aleph One, which begins with eerie sounds, growls and a tentatively picked guitar line that is soon joined by a stark banjo accompaniment. The drones running through the piece are unlike anything I have heard from Gwenifer before and make the ensuing, rather traditional and short guitar lament surprising. It is an ambiguous, shifting piece that hints at an album built on several ideas.
Further on, Cattywomp sees Gwenifer in fine, foot-stamping form, delivering a super fun Old-time style rattle through the dust. Even better and totally different is Champion Ivy, another piece built on a wicked tune, but one with a darker energy, accentuated by low string thrums and flat notes played alongside a rock-solid thumbed bass line. A wild ride through a dangerous landscape, this one sees Gwenifer at her quickest and most dynamic.
Final song One Day You’ll Lie Here but Everything Will Have Changed begins with a pretty line played with a lightness of touch that neatly balances the darker-toned tracks. The introduction of a sweeping steel guitar line, hovering behind the main instrument, adds drama and height to the piece, nicely evoking a heavensward gaze. Things get weird towards the close, with groaning sounds and eerie noise drowning out the sweet guitar refrain and beautifully bleeding the line between the earthy folk and the stranger, more science fiction side of this music. Like some other albums we have mentioned this year (Steve Gunn, Eric Arn, etc.), Last Night I Heard the Dog Star Bark raises the instrumental acoustic guitar album to new heights, adding more interest to the genre and delivering something new. It’s another banger from this excellent guitarist.
Last Night I Heard the Dog Star Bark (September 5th, 2025) We Are Busy Bodies
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