Red Cities by Chris Brokaw

22 Feb

Written by Mark Keresman
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Some listeners/readers familiar with less-commercial variants on what’s come to be know as "alternative rock" (a phrase about as useful these days as "progressive jazz," as that’s been applied to Stan Kenton, Teddy Charles and Anthony Braxton) might know the guitarist Chris Brokaw. Brokaw has been in the indie-rock bands Come and Codeine as well as the John Fahey-inspired instrumental collective Pullman - here, he steps out on his own. Playing all electric and acoustic guitars and percussion, Brokaw weaves a dense, languid, cinematic-sounding spell that’s equal parts Henry Mancini, Bill Frisell, John Barry, Ennio Morricone, The Tornadoes, Les Paul, Chet Atkins and Jimi Hendrix (the latter in his more restrained moments), mixing tremolo, surf/noir-twang, smoldering leads, spry country-ish picking, evocative, haunting melodies and shimmering-sunset-on-the-wide-open-plains textures. Brokaw is no virtuoso, but that’s the point, or part of the point: while a fine guitarist, Brokaw seems more interested in drawing listeners’ attention to the "whole" of the Song - the Mood, rather than The (showy) Technique. Red Cities is a good one for the Guitar/Instrumental Fan. (Plus: there's a REALLY nice treatment of Burt B's "The Look of Love" here.)