(International Anthem)The style-surfing guitarist deploys self-quoting loops and minimal solo work to beguiling effect
Best known as the jazz-facing guitarist in the influential
Chicago post-rock outfit Tortoise, Parker, now based in LA, wears many berets: band leader, film composer, unstarry collaborator. Parker’s third solo album for the International Anthem label is a meditative gem that breaks with the more fully fleshed out style of his two previous outings.
The New Breed (2016) memorialised Parker’s late father; last year’s Suite for Max Brown was dedicated to his mother, Maxine. This year’s Forfolks does away with collaborators in favour of self-quoting loops and minimal solo guitar – impressionistic daubings of notes playing out in the space between jazz, ambient and the daily practice of quietly sketching out a tune for oneself.