James Blackshaw is back with melancholy fingerpicked 12-string guitar after a 9-year recording hiatus. Unraveling In Your Hands harkens to his previous releases, such as The Cloud Of Unknowing, but exhibits a broader sonic palette as well as a degree of confidence that comes with maturity.
The title track, at 26 minutes, is by far the longest. On it Blackshaw strums and strikes chords that are evocative of his tribulations of leaving the difficult career of a musician for an equally difficult normie day job. It was recorded in a single take, and thus is a raw, unedited version of Blackshaw’s expressiveness – a hopeful sadness like a ray of light straining to shine through tinges of darkness. These rapid-tempo themes include rolling notes based around repeating patterns that vary over time but stay within a few rough structures.
Dexter is a shorter track steeped in loss. Charlotte Glasson provides supporting string and wind drones. Blackshaw switches to organ for slow-moving melodic progressions. The piece is pensive yet haunting. Why Keep Still? is a more upbeat 6-minute finisher on which Blackshaw integrates piano with his fingerstyle guitar. While incorporating remnants of the album’s brooding heaviness, this final track’s warm guitar tones lift the weight, carrying the listener toward a quiet optimism.
It is a pleasure to have James Blackshaw back behind his guitar. He is still an explorer with a solemnity and earnestness that is rare. If Unraveling In Your Hands strikes your fancy, do check out The Cloud Of Unknowing.
