Acoustic Guitar Magazine | 2 years ago
The Elijah McLaughlin Ensemble has been described as a mix of American primitive guitar, jazz, and classical. The descriptor that popped up in my head while listening? Avant-folk shredding. However you label it, the trio’s music is larger and farther-reaching than the sum of its parts. All three members—McLaughlin, Jason Toth (upright bass), and Joel Styzens (hammered dulcimer)—are firing on all cylinders technically and creatively. The new record, Eljiah McLaughlin Ensemble II, explores a wide range of sonic and emotional territories; at times it sounds harmonious and soaring, at others frenetic and dissonant. It’s an album that is not only heard, but felt.
