Charlie Coxedge – Cloisters

An enthralling, highly meditative guitar exploration...

The guitar is an instrument that has somewhat fallen by the wayside of late. After all, why fork out on a six-string when a laptop can conjure an entire orchestra with the click of a button?

MONEY’s Charlie Coxedge, though, has always sought to map out fresh ground for his instrument, guitar topography that sits wonderfully against the lyricism of frontman Jamie Lee.

Solo album ‘Cloisters’ allows Charlie Coxedge full reign, a burst of instrumentals that resonate with an incredible sense of inner calm. From the title down there’s this aptitude for seeking out hidden spaces, for finding the balance between seclusion and exploration.

Opening with the languid title cut the spider-like guitar lines crawl from speaker to speaker, adorned with only the subtlest of effects. Unfurling with patient grace, it’s an apt starting point for a wonderfully meditative record.

‘Pentreath’ is a mournful vignette, placing piano dots against slowly ascending guitar flashes. ‘Corrour’ recalls Sigur Ros their most glacial, verging on post-rock while retaining that essential shoegaze element that makes MONEY such a captivating proposition.

‘Dust’ is a wonderful experiment in control, the repeating daubs of guitar noise swirling up through incredible undulations of sound. ‘Be’ pushes out past the 10 minute mark, but its length never feels wasteful, with Charlie Coxedge continually focussing on the emotional impact of the piece rather than strict notions of formal structure.

Emerging from a desire to fully explore his guitar pedals, ‘Cloisters’ results in a highly emotive experience, by turns playful and mournful, melancholic and ecstatic. If the guitar can sometimes feel like a staid, static instrument, then Charlie Coxedge is able to tap into unimagined currents that flow in startlingly unexpected directions.

7/10

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