James Blackshaw: The Glass Bead Game

Label: Young God

After garnering a reputation for combining the best elements of John Fahey and Sandy Bull in his beautiful, intricate 12-string-guitar playing, English virtuoso James Blackshaw started branching out with a few short piano tracks on last year’s Litany of Echoes. On The Glass Bead Game, his first album for Young God, the piano is more prominent in his densest music yet, due not only to the presence of the more resonant and wider-ranging instrument but also through more overdubbing. There are even some wordless vocals. Blackshaw’s style is moving closer to minimalism, but in a sort of thickly layered Brian Eno/Charlemagne Palestine hybrid rather than in the process-oriented Steve Reich/Phillip Glass sense. Deeply entrancing but with plenty of timbral variety, the album shows that Blackshaw continues to evolve while staying interesting. (Steve)