There is something immensely satisfying about running into an album like Dylan Golden Aycock’sRise and Shine. Six songs of immense weight and beauty composed and performed sporadically on six and twelve string acoustic guitars, recorded and then cut onto X-Rays from his father’s non-fatal heart attack. That’s right, extremely limited physical copies of this record are cut onto the X-Rays of Dylan’s father’s chest from a heart attack that he suffered on Valentine’s Day.
Those things are probably already sold out, so the rest of us will have to suffice for the electronic copy from Scissor Tail Editions which Dylan owns and operates. Rise and Shine is my introduction to the world of Scissor Tail Editions and I couldn’t be more enthusiastic about sharing this with the world, or the small universe of people who read the Tome on a semi-consistent basis.
Dylan Golden Aycock is from Tulsa, OK and performs beautifully arranged and performed songs on the acoustic guitar (that holy instrument) that are as expansive and limitless. I spent a good part of my childhood driving between Wichita, KS to Dallas, TX. I can imagine how Oklahoma’s topography can inspire this sort of unhurried, wide-open exploration of the acoustic guitar. Sunsets are two gazes long, obstructed only by rolling hills. My romantic recollection of Oklahoma and Aycock’s equally romanticized recreation of American western music ride that thin line between actual and collective memory. Indeed, Aycock’s music is firmly planted in American Western traditions of folk, country-western, elements of bluegrass and back porch guitar picking. Rise and Shine hits all these bases, however, Dylan operates on a level of heady interpretation of folk-deconstructionist Scott Tuma and 12-string virtuoso James Blackshaw. Like Tuma, whose comparison is inevitable, Aycock’s compositions float from improvised passages full of atonal strumming to tightly composed ruminations on folk, deconstructing the genre down to the brass tacks. Instrumentation is sporadic and only used when absolutely necessary, like a ruddy violin and synthesizer (or accordian) on the album’s standout track “Leaning Toward the East”.
While comparisons to Tuma and Blackshaw (who like Aycock pushes the acoustic guitar into realms of classical music) serve to place Aycock with other like-minded artists, Dylan Golden Aycock is unexpectedly talented. Coming out the American west is something to get excited about. Scissor Tail Editions has already put out some excellent releases this year including a first-time-ever physical release of Bruce Langhorne’s excellent score to Peter Fonda’s cult-classic 1969 film “The Hired Hand”. I am A.C Slater stoked to bring this to your attention. Rise and Shine has imdued some of the most meaningless domestic chores with unspeakable beauty. -tometotheweathermachine
1st Edition of 14 SOLD OUT
ORDER 2nd edition on 180g black vinyl with hand painted, printed, and letterpresses covers. limited edition of 225. Order via BANDCAMP
ORDER 2nd edition on 180g black vinyl with hand painted, printed, and letterpresses covers. limited edition of 225. Order via BANDCAMP
