Filipe Felizardo: Guitar Soli For The Moa And The Frog

Filipe Felizardo (guitar, effects)
Guitar Soli For Moa And The Frog (ShhPuma/Clean Feed; 2012)

You know every guitar player doesn't have to sound like Ry Cooder, Bill Frisell, Robert Fripp or Michael Brook, to name a few of the famous modern ones (yes I'm leaving about 20 out but there's only some many lines I can write). It's when the guitarist takes the time to create and expand on their influences that really catches my eye.

That's what I found while exploring the textural soundscapes created by Filipe Felizardo on his debut, Guitar Soli For Moa And The Frog.

Notes and tones phase in like recurring dreams on the opener "Against The Day." Soft and deeply emotional, Felizardo's notes have a rustic quality. And that makes "Against The Day" echo long after its final movements have completed.

The extended suite "A Conference Of Stones And Things Previous" holds a similar inquisitive nature, with chords slowly crafting a journey that is raw and sweet. On the third movement "Obsidian", we do get a sense of a rough edge to Felizardo's playing. This is a dark poetic movement that hangs and doesn't tend to let you go.

"Of The Excrement and the Frog" posses an eastern aesthetic with a haunting blues undertone. The textures that Felizardo works through reminded me of work by the Italian duo, Zero Centigrade. Beautiful and melodic, but demands patience.

Guitar Soli For The Moa And The Frog is an impressive debut with quiet, ethereal ideas and patterns which may actually be best absorbed through headphones. Filipe Felizardo has delivered a wonderful compelling and challenging record. And shows that foundations of experimental guitars and exploratory folk can transcend both sides of the Atlantic. Highly Recommended.