The list of instruments on guitarist Geir Sundstøl‘s sixth album for Hubro is as long as both my arms. This inventive selection of widescreen soundscapes utilises all manner of guitar-adjacent instruments and straddles an interesting space between Ry Cooder-esque introspection, Ennio Morricone-like sweeps and Eastern tonal influence.
Sakte Film marks Geir’s tenth anniversary as a solo artist and it is an impressive collection that tempts the listener across vast empty plains shimmering with heat. The Eastern tones and echoing slide of opener “Mats” re-imagines “Paris, Texas” in the Thar Desert. It is a slow loping groove redolent of dust and drama, full of strings and space and is a fine introduction to Geir’s song-writing; it errs on the solitary, whipping up the kind of vistas in which a person can get lost, either by accident or on purpose.
As well as using pedal steel, mandolin and bass, the guitar sounds on the album are incredibly diverse; there are a number of different guitars listed as well as marxophone and bulbul tarang so that each track’s string elements are wide-ranging from the Durutti Column-like subtlety of “Broder” to the blues-y strut of “Maroder Misjoner”. But for all of this virtuoso ability, the overall feel is of melancholic solitude. Sometimes very little happens to evoke such emptiness; the sparse “Divan”, with the song strung along the telegraph wires, is all about missed opportunities but on an epic scale. Stars shimmer as the sun goes down, harmonica highlighting the comet strokes of the strings, but there is no-one with whom to share this feast. Every ingredient on the album speaks of distance and heat, and even the drums on “Nabel” have sweat on their brow and whichever way we turn, the horizon is unreachable. There are vocals on “Nedgangen”, which feel as though hope is fleeing.There is a brief uptempo guitar duet on “Beveg” and once again the Eastern influence draws us into unfamiliar territory, the combination of both East and West, along with added subtle ingredients, gives each track the feel of a mini-epic, globetrotting but desert-dwelling and ever-searching. “Snille Spokelse” is a vocal track that pits a moody male voice against the sweetness of a female one; over sparse backing, you feel this is the explanation of the intense air of solitude that hangs over the album and which leads to the final piece which, with its wavering reverb, is almost tragic. Some gentle accompaniment helps to wipe the tears as we are left standing in the middle of nowhere with just the stars for company.
Geir’s latest is just wonderful in its evocation of solitude and the fact that rarely was there more then two people together recording at one time perhaps feeds into that feeling. Sakte Film is one of those albums you just want to get inside and allow it to comfort you, ready to return again and again.-Mr Olivetti-
