Chris Forsyth
Solar Motel
Rock
Guitarist Chris Forsyth’s new album Solar Motel does something most rock instrumental albums fail to achieve — lasting entertainment for the layman.
Rather than steeping the four-part epic in showy noodling or overly complex structure, Forsyth reaches for Pink Floydian ideals by layering his guitars in simple melodies and keeping other instrumentation to simple, textural motifs.
The album builds listener anticipation from the outset, with churning rhythm guitars egging the music forward to implied new heights.
It is at the first climax, though, where the album shows that Forsyth is still reaching for the aforementioned ideals, as percussion enters sloppily with an irksome and unfortunately cowbell keeping time.
That aside, the climaxes themselves are dramatic enough for punch, but not so much so that they become gaudy, a testament to Forsyth’s arranging ability.
Solar Motel’s first half, it should be noted, outshines its second. The latter half doesn’t have the quite the ability to build the anticipation of climaxes like the first, and doesn’t quite have the power of the former’s high points.
Had the dynamic of the first half continued to the end, the album would have excelled on a much greater level.
Tone is one of the record’s strongest attributes. Forsyth’s layered guitars deserve to be heralded as examples of paragonal recording, containing gain enough for a soft bite, yet holding a warmth similar to the guitars found on golden-era ‘60s and ‘70s rock records.
His incorporation of a slide brings to mind prime David Gilmour of Pink Floyd, a similarity that appears more than once in the album, most notably in a soaring, fuzz-rich solo towards the end of the album reminiscent of the Floyd’s “Time.”
Albeit the percussion flop of its first climax and appearances of occasionally indulgent effects such as squeaking guitars and digital manipulations, Chris Forsyth’s Solar Motel is an approachable rock instrumental record that even those barely exposed to the genre can enjoy from first climb to final crescendo.
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