Last Minute Guitar: A Quick Review Of The New Album From Stephen Vitiello, Brendan Canty (Fugazi, The Messthethics) And Hahn Rowe (Hugo Largo)

The winding twists of the guitar on "Last Minute Guitar" suggest a record which will find the combined musicians reaching for new territory. Second, the new album from Stephen Vitiello, Brendan Canty, and Hahn Rowe, contains music which inspires a listener to pay attention, and reconsider expectations. Even compared to the work of Canty in his current post-Fugazi band The Messthetics, this is more ambient material. And the same goes for the work of Hahn Rowe here, though his string work on Second does reveal a very faint similarity to the more languid passages on a Hugo Largo record.

Multi-instrumentalist Stephen Vitiello plays guitar, treated guitar, and synths, among other things, on this record, and the resulting pieces straddle a line between fusion and post rock. "Rhythmic Rhodes" charms on the strength of Canty's jazz-inflected drumming, even as Rowe's violin (or is that a viola?) shares space with the guitar and electronic textures generated by Vitiello. Elsewhere, the haunting "Mrphgtrs1" finds guest Geologist (Animal Collective) adding hurdy-gurdy to the mix. The track weaves its way through the ears like a snake on a hot day, the strings uniformly bracing if held in check. The punchy "#6" is all Canty's, with his percussion pushing this forward and giving a bit of fire in the middle of numbers which are more deliberately spacious. The Fripp-y "Piece 2 at 77BPM" is another real gem, and that one is mostly Vitiello's.

All throughout Second, the three musicians surprise. There's enough here that should satisfy anyone who's watched the careers of Canty and Rowe, for example, but also a lot that sounds pleasingly unexpected. And Vitiello wisely keeps the whole effort grounded around his various guitar and synth permutations. This is a record that reveals a neat space betwen post rock and ambient, and the players involved command it.

Second by Stephen Vitiello, Brendan Canty, and Hahn Rowe is out now. Details below.

[Photo of Stephen Vitiello by Olga Kisseleva]