The Intimate Landscape

A new instrumental album of acoustic guitar playing from Six Organs of Admittance's Ben Chasny! Everybody knows it's been far too long since 2004's much-beloved For Octavio Paz; even as the landscape has crowded with acoustic players, we've all been dying to hear Ben's distinctive virtuosity again in this format. But The Intimate Landscape is so much more.

Going for melody, Ben employs a relaxed technical facility, supported by a few guitar overdubs, plus several well-placed synths and a passage of wordless vocalizing, accessing the murky depths of his reservoir of spirituality while hand-spinning irresistible sonic candy at the same time. This is a greatly engrossing listening experience, regardless of what the listener's intentions are.