Weekly Album: Week of 06/11 - 06/17 - Thank You, Guitar

This week I listened to Thank You, Guitar by Cyrus Pireh. Before I start talking about the album itself, I want to mention my relationship with this album. Through Cyrus' YouTube channel, I (and the rest of his viewers) have had the privilege of seeing this album be developed before our very eyes. I've seen some of these songs start from just the tiniest of ideas, so to see them fully developed feels very satisfying to me. As for the music itself, it is fantastic. Cyrus creates what I consider to be music that takes full advantage of being written on and for the guitar. It is some of the most unique playing I've ever heard. They have odd rhythms and unique harmonies that I just don't really hear elsewhere in the world of guitar music. He has an impeccable sense of groove, showcased very well by the track "Amen Family" where he uses the "Amen Break" drum pattern as the foundation for the whole piece. I found myself tapping my foot the whole time listening to that one. There are also several songs that make use of delay effects, a standout one for me being "Free Palestine" (great song title as well). It has the swirly tape delay that just creates a beautiful cacophony of guitar. And what a beautiful sounding guitar it is too; it can be so distorted at times but can produce such beautiful and pristine clean sounds. Another unique track is "Sheep Graze" which sees Cyrus arranging the Bach piece "Sheep May Safely Graze". I've mentioned in my Switched-On Bach II review that "Sheep May Safely Graze" is my favorite Bach piece and I can say with zero uncertainty that Cyrus' arrangement which I heard on YouTube is the reason for that, so I hope that gets across how much I like "Sheep Graze". I was very heavily anticipating the release of this album, and I have to say I was not disappointed. 10/10 album