The James Blackshaw renaissance continues! In 2016, the British fingerstyle guitar virtuoso pulled the plug on his music career, citing economic concerns. In 2019, he announced his return to music, but not until late 2024 did we get Unraveling In Your Hands, Blackshaw's first album in nearly a decade.
He's followed that one up much more quickly. Fractures On The Horizon, a new Blackshaw LP, is out today, a mere 16 months after the last one. It's just two tracks, but the first, "Fractures On The Horizon," is over 25 minutes, and the second, "Three Interlopers," goes beyond 10 — too long to call this a single, then. These two compositions add up to a gorgeous odyssey, showing off not just Blackshaw's technical prowess but his ear for drama and dynamics. And when you realize the second track is an incredible drone exercise, your appreciation for Blackshaw might grow deeper still.
Stream Fractures On The Horizon below.
Fractures On The Horizon is out now. Buy it here. For those who'd like to replicate this kind of beauty, he helpfully specifies on Bandcamp that his guitar is tuned BGDEBD.
