Tierra Quemada

Largely self-taught, clawhammer banjoist, fingerstyle guitarist and songwriter Paul Tasker renders the nine instrumental compositions on Tierra Quemada with sparkling clarity and sublime skill. Based in Glasgow, Scotland, Tasker is known for his work with Scottish nu-folk duo Doghouse Roses and the American alt-folk troupe Willard Grant Conspiracy. His new album places him in the very fine company of Laura Beth Salter (mandolin on ‘Womble the Sausage Dog’), Rachel Hair (harp), Una McGlone (bass), Richard Evan (viola), Robert Henderson (trumpet) and Dejan Lapanja (drums).

The swaying beauty of ‘Firefly’ features Tasker’s deft guitar, which gracefully melds with Hair’s effervescent harp and McGlone’s dulcet bass. The title-track, which translates to ‘Scorched Earth,’ contradictorily conveys not so much wanton destruction as a wistful, melancholic lament. Tasker’s refined clawhammer styling imbues the rambling shimmy of ‘Riding Out’ and the delicate rhythm of ‘Last Waltz’ with equally erudite imagination. Collectively, Tierra Quemada is a quietly engaging triumph of acoustic music-making.