BUCK CURRAN - Delights And Dangers Of Ambiguity (Improvisations 2017-2022)

After five albums of dreamy folk-rock, the story of Arborea came to an end with the split between Buck and Shanti. Between 1996 and 2020, the guitarist from Maine released four more solo works, largely recorded in Italy, where he moved after meeting the musician from Bergamo Adele H.

Once the pandemic was over, Buck went back to visit Maine, his homeland, to finish recording the last tracks for his new album, "Delights And Dangers Of Ambiguity (Improvisations 2017-2022)", mastered like all the others by Harris Newman, the Constellation sound engineer. It's a collection of improvisations recorded starting in June 2017, shortly before the birth of his son Francesco: hence the title of the long, wonderful track recorded alongside Helena Espvall (ex-Espers), "Gemini Sun, Gemini Rising", the beating heart of the whole record.

The album opens with the austere piano tones of the title track "Delights And Dangers Of Ambiguity", a phrase taken from a Leonard Bernstein lecture (to whom the entire record is dedicated). Buck Curran pushes beyond what we'd have imagined to be his comfort zone, venturing into harmonies AND melodies that turn out to be surprisingly close to his own sensibility.

The move into the second track, the already-mentioned "Gemini Sun, Gemini Rising", sounds even more effective as a result: Curran's languid guitar tones shine deeply as they follow the echo of Espvall's cello. Like a "Maggot Brain" in slow motion, the track feels like a rondò that, turning in on itself, tries to climb an enchanted mountain before vanishing into darkness.

Without a break, the electricity turns into darker, more mysterious sine waves on "Mugen No Umi No Iro", enriched by the piano phrases crafted by Japanese composer Hiroya Miura. That Buck Curran has taken an interest in playing borderline music is shown, almost at the close of the tracklist, by "Prelude In D Minor", a gothic watercolor worthy of the most mystical Dead Can Dance.

The digital version of the album is enriched with four alternate versions of as many tracks featured on the LP.

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01/04/2023