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Ava Mendoza is a virtuosic electric guitar player out of Brooklyn, best known for her work as part of the Bill Orcutt Quartet and experimental rock trio Unnatural Ways, but also for playing with big hitters like Nels Cline, Fred Frith and Carla Bozulich, among others. It’s hard to pin down Ava’s style, seemingly because she is adept in so many areas of guitar playing, as it becomes clear when you listen to The Circular Train, her second solo LP of charged avant garde rock, blues and jazz music.
It’s interesting to see in the notes that these six songs have been gradually written since 2007, partly on the move in various locations and situations in the Americas and partly during the pandemic, apparently informing a more slowed-down approach to the music that is evident across much of the set. Ava has kept things stripped back too, with just her and the single tracked electric guitar on four tracks, and vocals added on two.
The result is a bold, clean and direct album, partly reminiscent of early PJ Harvey, particularly on vocal song Pink River Dolphins, a piece inspired by Ava and her father swimming with dolphins in the Amazon River. The song starts with reverbed strummed chords before a killer riff kicks in to frame Ava’s versatile voice. There is a rawness to the playing and singing, bringing to mind records like Neil Young’s 2010 Le Noise and a feeling of utter control in the craft.
Dust from the Mines is a more spacious song spanning over six minutes and using string bends and reverb to create an uneasy terrain over which Ava plays some slick lines. It feels like there is a pinch of improvised guitar in here too, especially when the playing becomes looser and more charged towards the last third. Songs like Cyprus Crossing are starker in form, with a cleaner guitar sound sending notes into the cosmos. There is a stoner rock edge to this one, with thick guitar riffs blending with some sweet lines from the dustier end of the fretboard.
Perhaps best of all is the eight-minute Shadow Song, a piece boasting some serious blues playing, before Ava’s voice comes in, sounding like Karen O in places. The vocals are minimal, giving plenty of room to accomplished playing and the chugging motion of the music suits the slow tempo well, Ava’s guitar sounding muscular and dynamic. It’s a high point on an album that she should be proud of. It’s no frills, no pretensions and totally ace.
The Circular Train (15th November 2024) Palilalia (PAL087)
Bandcamp (Digital, Vinyl, CD – Limited Edition)
