Eli Winter

Known as an extraordinarily adept self-taught guitarist with a distinctive style bearing the imprint of contemporary American flatpickers, particularly his mentor, Daniel Bachman, Eli Winter pushes his composer and bandleader chops to the forefront with this self-titled release from High Point, NC-based Three Lobed Recordings.

Accompanied by a posse of superb players including Cameron Knowler (electric and acoustic guitars), Sam Wagster (pedal steel) and Tyler Damon (drums), Winter proffers a smart, offbeat cool conglomeration of alt-country twang, chamber grass groove and psychedelic rock. ‘For a Chisos Bluebonnet’ features the core guitar trio thrumming along to a sprightly, toe-tapping tempo. ‘Davening in Threes’ follows in similarly conventional bluegrassian mode until an odd half-time break brings fingerstyle sorceress Yasmin Williams’ shimmering guitar into play and a shift into a sustained anthemic exultation. ‘No Fear’ boldly ventures into string-scraping, electro-industrial territory, countered by ‘Brain on Ice’ with its chill, loping blues vibe. David Grubbs’ mesmeric harmonium introduces ‘Unbecoming’, which is otherwise handled with majestic harmony by Winter on 12-string, Whitney Johnson on viola and Liz Downing’s bowed banjo. The song and album are brought to a graceful close with a vocal flourish by Downing and Guilia Chiappetta.