Eldritch Priest: Dormitive Virtue
Afraid of projects that are too experimental and inaccessible? You'd be wrong to look past it
Dormitive Virtue is a solo guitar album by Eldritch Priest recorded live at 8EAST in 2023. It was his first-ever solo guitar performance, according to the album's press materials, and it's an engaging one. Priest is a professor at Simon Fraser University with both a scholarly and composerly background; his sabbatical year leading up to that day at 8EAST launched him deeper into solo guitar exploration.
The opener "Grave Needs, Rainbow" is heavy, distorted, and effects-laden. At this point, however, if you're afraid of projects that are too experimental and inaccessible, you'd be wrong to look past Dormitive Virtue. "Supposition Engine" is light, clean and reverberant. So is "A Problem with the Stars", which is one of two existing compositions Priest brings to the record – that is to say, not free improvisations. The other one is the patient, sensitive title track, which closes out the tracklist.
But before that, the set continues with another clean and atmospheric number: "Outlaw". Then there's the Wayne Shorter tune "Iris", best known for being a track on Miles Davis' E.S.P. with the second great quintet. Shorter's rendition with Davis is a ballad in steady medium time anchored by Ron Carter's precise beat on the bass. A warm crackling starts Priest's version – he's keeping a torch lit, or he's putting on a lo-fi playlist, your call. He luxuriates in the melody as the pitches bend and ends up delivering a straight-ahead unaccompanied guitar ballad that people at Frankie's would appreciate no less than those facing the glass at 8EAST.
Priest returns to the dirty guitar sounds with "The Ghastly", this time conjuring huge, ringing landscapes and long-toned riffs like the most expert instrumental rock guitarists of the canon: Joe Satriani or Steve Vai. The legato playing continues on a clean tone with "A Gilded Madman", with rolls of volume dipping in and out, adding texture to each note; rather than a soundscape, this track is like one long endless line.
So many tracks on this record have indeterminate endings that float off suddenly into the distance, reminding you that they're segments of a pivotal live performance in the life of an experienced creative. Priest returns to 8EAST tonight, November 12, 2024 to play a release show, this time with James Meger and Brady Cranfield accompanying him. Priest and Cranfield have played and recorded under the duo name Alfred Jarry, with their most recent Bandcamp release coming out in October 2023 and featuring some jazz standards.
Two younger stalwarts of the space with their own new album, Matthew Ariaratnam and Adrian Avendaño, will play guitar-drums duo to fill tonight's second set.
released Oct. 11, 2024 | Buy vinyl / digital (Bandcamp) |Available on streaming
