''Freak Guitar - The Road Less Traveled'' Mattias Eklundh

- David "Skinny Devil" McLean
originally published at Tinfoil Music
Date: Tuesday, August 30 2005 @ 15:49:37 BST
 
When the package arrived from the mail, it was totally unexpected. When I opened it, it revealed the new release by Mattias Eklundh (you can read my December 2004 "Guitar Gods" interview with him HERE). Naturally, I ripped the plastic from it as I dashed to the CD deck.
 

If you haven't heard of Mattias "Freak Guitar" Eklundh, you are missing out on some of the best guitar-centric music on the planet. Unreal sounds pour forth in a frothy, frantic, bubbling stew of sound guaranteed to stun you at every turn. The new release, "Freak Guitar - The Road Less Traveled" (Favored Nations, 2005) is no exception. In fact, it may well be his best work yet.


Opening with the quirky but beautiful title track and sliding right into the bizarre "There's No Money in Jazz", Mattias wastes no time drawing the line. "Father", a gorgeous piece of nylon string work lilting over a rough, techno edge full of moody modulations & stylistic shifts, while "No Strings Attached" is a brief, crushing attack on the senses, and "Caffeine" is a hyper-kinetic carnival ride with speedy, fleet-fingered sorties into FreakLand.

Other highlights include an amazingly original version of Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water", the uber-flanged speed riffed "Chopstick Boogie", the reflective "The Woman in Seat 27A", and the wicked licks & oral percussion of "Samba Caramba".

If you like your humor dark, your roller-coasters scary, and your guitar playing insane, then "Freak Guitar - The Road Less Traveled" is for you.

Bottom line: 10 on the Reichter Scale; an essential part of any collection of serious guitar music. Don't get it today - get it NOW!

When you visit Mattias ON-LINE, be sure to tell him I said "Howdy!".