(2019) Bill MacKay - Fountain Fire

Review:
Fountain Fire is the true follow-up to 2017’s fine Esker, Bill MacKay‘s debut long-player for Drag City. “True” in that the guitarist and producer cut and released SpiderBeetleBee — his second effort with guitarist Ryley Walker — that same year. Like Esker, Fountain Fire was recorded completely solo with MacKay playing guitars, piano, organ, bass, percussion, and requinto, and singing on a pair of cuts. Musically, this eight-song set travels in a variety of directions simultaneously. Opening single “Pre-California” is an overdubbed exercise in layered solo guitar(s) work with distorted, warm electric strumming, gently reverbed single-string picking — in a modal scale that resembles surf music if it originated in North Africa — and multivalent slides adorning its margins. “Birds of May” is a vocal track that pays obvious homage to both Bert Jansch in its approach to playing and Nick Drake in its singing and lyric images. It’s haunted, spare, and resonant, making the listener ponder why MacKay doesn’t sing more. The other vocal cut here, “Try It On,” is a dead-on cross between desert Americana and baroque English folk à la the Strawbs and/or the John Martyn of Sunday’s Child. “Man & His Panic,” with its magnificent interplay of banjo and acoustic guitars, suggests the twin influences of John Fahey and Jack Rose, while “The Movie House” offers an aural illustration of what might happen if you crossed Zuma-era Neil Young with the studio wizardry of Sandy Bull. “Welcome,” in waltz time, is based on simple chord changes, Western themes, and pillowy psychedelia. “Arcadia” is an all-too-brief meditation on controlled feedback and open-drone playing with a slide and power chords, making it an album highlight.

Tracklist:
01 - Pre-California
02 - Birds of May
03 - The Movie House
04 - Man & His Panic
05 - Welcome
06 - Try It On
07 - Arcadia
08 - Dragon Country

Summary:
Country: USA
Genre: alternative folk, folk-rock