Divide Avenue
The debut release by guitarist and composer Thomas Nordlund is a nostalgic road song, narrated through the gritty sounds of electric baritone guitar. The music paints a cinematic ode to his travels through the expansive landscapes of Baja, Mexico.
“Instrumental albums don’t come along often anymore and fewer still are memorable. Nordlund’s album is distinguished by many things, but one of its crowning characteristics is its aura. Divide Avenue feels like an album meant to last and a personal statement. There isn’t a second of filler to be found and even less pretention or self-indulgence.”
“This is an impressive release by any measure. Thomas Nordlund is musician as magician, a playing talent capable of fleshing out entire landscapes with only a few notes. There is something almost painterly about this album, even literary. Divide Avenue is a moving work of musical poetry.”
Miles Left Behind
Tracked in a single four-hour session with his quartet featuring Ben Abrahamson (banjo), Doan Roessler (bass), and Zach Schmidt (drums), “Miles Left Behind” picks up where his debut “Divide Avenue” left off, extending ideas about lyrical melody and non-standard form. It also contains elements of atmospheric sound design, processed from the sampled harmonics, open strings, and other noises of his guitars.
Opening tracks “Becoming” and “Even Long After” expand the vocabulary defined on “Divide Avenue” into more complex harmony, odd time signatures, and extended improvisation. A singular arrangement of “Aerial Boundaries” by Michael Hedges precedes the nostalgic slide-song “Where Summer Had Gone”. After reinterpreting the older “Wandering Daughter”, the record closes with the through-composed “Circling Plains” and a slow-burning arrangement of “Si” by Nils Frahm.
“It is hard for an atmospheric jazz guitarist to make music that is spacious but not aimless. Thomas Nordlund provides the template for it on his new disc, Miles Left Behind, unfurling lines with a steely confidence and stealthy high-ambition while abetted by an attuned rhythm section and a beautifully understated banjo.”