Glad Tidings, a new, Vancouver-based record label, has announced its inaugural release: Waste Knot by Alex Archibald, arriving in August.
Based on the label’s mission to release eclectic, acoustic-based work and the adventurous spirit of the album, the debut feels destined to resonate with listeners seeking music that transcends easy categorization.
Waste Knot is an intriguing and cozy collection of instrumental guitar compositions, recorded outdoors along the West Coast. Archibald, who is also based in Vancouver, allows the natural world — ocean waves, birds, wind — to seep into the recordings as uncredited yet vital collaborators.
His playing is marked by an ecstatic openness, a radiant, unguarded joy that pulses through each note, similar to that of other Third Eye favorites, such as Joseph Allred and Kevin Coleman. Archibald’s approach to the guitar is deeply expressive, as if the instrument were an extension of his nervous system, channeling something larger and brighter than himself.
Several tracks on Waste Knot shimmer with bright, inviting tones, starting with the opener, “Andrew’s Raven,” which bursts forth like morning light. “June Crescent” follows in a similarly radiant vein, conjuring images of clear blue skies and sunlit vistas. As the album unfolds, Archibald’s intricate fingerpicking remains a constant highlight, though the mood gradually shifts.
On the brief but poignant “Not Quite Sugar Hill,” the atmosphere turns more introspective, hinting at a quiet solemnity. “Whittling” delves deeper into shadowy territory, laced with a dark, bluesy undercurrent, while “A Coin for a Blade” continues this mysterious, cinematic descent.
By the time we arrive at the closing track, “Hemlock Looper,” the record has fully transitioned into twilight. The piece begins with a nocturnal field recording, gently guiding listeners into the hush of the countryside at night, before drifting away under the pale light of the moon. The track sequencing on Waste Knot feels deliberate, mirroring the slow passage from day to night, a contemplative journey that is both earthy and ethereal.
While he could easily be grouped with the contemporary wave of solo guitar revivalists, Archibald says his influences run deeper and more eclectic.
Listen close enough, and you might hear echoes of Kostas Bezos’s microtonal explorations, the meditative grace of Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou, the raw blues of Peg Leg Howell, Moondog’s minimalist orchestrations, Django Reinhardt’s mercurial swing, Joseph Spence’s idiosyncratic folk phrasing, and even the punk brevity and philosophy of the Minutemen.
As Glad Tidings’ debut release, Waste Knot embodies the new label’s ethos: music that surprises and moves. The deeply thoughtful album positions both Archibald and the label as names to watch closely.
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