“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 ...