Loren Connors - 9th Avenue

The new A Handful of Dust LP carried a hidden secondary value, for its release also drew my attention to Carbon's otherwise overlooked reissue of this black cloud classic from every thinking person's favourite guitar rhapsodist. First released only to CD in 1995, 9th Avenue very much reflects the era into which it was born, Connors in his distorted guitar phase around about the same time a lot of younger guns were attempting the same thing, and it's hard not to hear the ghosts of Sonic Youth, The For Carnation et al in the blues-y, de-constructed wail. There must be hundreds of LMC recordings in existence now, a credit to a life spent in constant creative renewal, and yet 9th Avenue does sound especially vital in that mammoth catalogue, presenting a see-saw mix of emotionally thunderous tracks and lonesome yearning, masterfully oscillating between maximalist guitar work outs and minimalist composition. Connors is seemingly peerless when it comes to cryptic emotional breadth, and 9th Avenue sees him close to the peak of his powers, and like Jandek, reinventing the blues in his own complex image. Can't believe we nearly missed it. Don't fall foul of the same mistake.