BEN TAVARES “Janitor of Lunacy” (Endangered Species Tapes)


“I’ve lost a friend and I don’t know why” – that is emblazoned on the inside of the j-card, the front of which is a doodled caricature of, probably, Ben Tavares. It’s a somber note, but it might be referring to, say, a computer whose hard drive finally gave up the ghost, or a treasured guitar that melted in the microwave. The possibilities are fairly endless.

Tavares wreaks havoc with manipulated guitar feedback, giving form to low-end squalls, the kind that precede massive nor’easters. But the nor’easters never come: the pacing is deliberate, allowing the instrument to drone on into infinity (if it wanted to), and Tavares never lets anything off the leash, keeping the storm at bay. For a dense, roiling fog of ambient guitar work, look no further than Janitor of Lunacy.

Maybe the missing nor’easters are the lost friend ...



--Ryan