Flutters by Dave Wirth is an exclusively acoustic full length, divided to 13 arrangements of improvisative/super-contemplative string strumming. And there is a lot to be heard indeed, as frequencies demand full attention as they are finally given due time and real estate to claim their full share of murdered silence on.
"Technically" speaking, the artistic aim behind the disc is to showcase how awareness moves within an unrelenting type of layered existence which IT creates in the process, leaving behind traces of sounds, but now documented in larger-than-life proportions, courtesy of recording equipment entirely devoted to paint a very precise picture of audible stimuli. Read on to know more.
Wirth's music is deeply introspective, self-reflective, imperturbed, and dangerless. It has a concept of motion, even an ability to move, but it does not have any urge to do so on a constant basis. Instead, the album first and foremost is prone to invite the listener to re-discover the fundamental intimacy of the concept of sound. Wirth won't try to convince you of any special-, Mad Sk1ll LevelzZz at guitar molestation, nor he will bring forth a constant urge to discover harmonies that aren't conceived on this earth - although he will have surprises up his sleeves. With songs like "Penumbra Nadir" or the titular "Flutters", increased levels of harmonic awareness and playfulness is observable, toppled by the fact that Wirth always manages to stay away from the act of shaking his own hand - which would be very hard to do while playing "tAh" guitar while holding a coffee mug, anyway.
As mentioned, the core behaviour of the record is reflective of an artistic stance that does not seek to impress at all, as its aim is to re-discover and worship the importance of sound, and indeed this very awe-, this very fascination towards the magic of sound created out of nothing/out of mere potential, is captured and delivered on the release. As such, the disc is a necessary success. I have zero doubt that Wirth captured his soul while playing this, and it is up to the individual listener to find out if said listener is able to identify the pivotal points of soul movements/activities lingering in this deliberate self-abduction.
This agenda, to capture the movement of the player's soul, is primordial, while the anatomical structure of the respective songs is only of secondary importance. In his review request, Dave Wirth wrote to me that he had to convince the producer to not use any after-effects and highly occult sonic-wizardry through the release, let everything stay natural, as it was upon the creation of the tracks. A noble and sane goal: these precedents were recorded with a myriad of microphones, and the production values indeed are top of the foodchain, as each and every receptor of the ensuing recording apparatus is directed into capturing the full register of the acoustic guitar. And there is a lot to be heard indeed, as frequencies demand full attention as they are finally given due time and real estate to claim their full share of murdered silence on.
A deeply intimate release, which openly emerges to fetishize the timeless charm of the acoustic guitar, and said instrument won't have a single complaint in store towards this relentless dynamic. A legitimate, thorough love affair for all acoustic guitar lovers. Listen at 4:03, at the end of the "Penumbra Nadir" song: is that a sound of digestion?
http://noiseshaft.blogspot.hu/2017/01/dave-wirth-flutters-review.html