Siggy, Jake Pashkin

Siggy – “The Absinthe Effect”

Channeling the vocal style of Tom Verlaine and the guitars of The Feelies, Siggy manages to sound fresh and compelling. The ten tracks on The Absinthe Effect are driven by a rhythmic mix of acoustic and electric guitars. Galen Buckwalter’s quivery voice is not American Idol material, but that’s not the point. His sound is unique and memorable.

Tracks to check out are “Remember,” a mid-tempo track packed with melody, or “Mediterranean,” which sounds like The Velvet Underground on steroids. Siggy is not a band focused upon singles though, they rely instead on creating an album that is best enjoyed in one complete listening session.

Jake Pashkin – “Prequel”

It’s not often that you discover a six-string shredder from Russia, but the search is over. Jake Pashkin is an amazingly talented guitarist in the Joe Satriani/Steve Vai vein. Prequel contains ten very self-indulgent instrumental tracks that rely upon a techno-based rhythmic background. Occasional synthesizer melodies provide a counterpoint for the raging guitar solos, but the problem lies in that the melodies don’t tend to stick in your mind for very long. The best instrumental guitar music is able to convince the listener that vocals aren’t a necessary component, yet Pashkin doesn’t manage to pull off the deception.

From a technical standpoint, Pashkin is a guitarist to be admired. While Prequil will be enjoyable to those who found Jeff Beck’s Guitar Shop to be a masterpiece, others may find the album to be worthy of only a momentary diversion.