ROSS HAMMOND - "OUR TIME" LP

Something Else:

Once again, Hammond’s inventiveness shines through even with only a single, unadorned instrument at his disposal. His fingerpicking style is unlike any other, bending notes on “A Strength In Silence” at surprising points, for instance. Since much of these songs are essentially drones, Indian influences often lurk in the background such as for raga-like trance “For Rob Noyes.” Hammond turns the instrument into a chameleon, able to make it sound different for each song. For “Zephyr Cove” as well as “Unafraid,” it sort of resembles a banjo.

“Shillito” is where Hammond exploits the fuller resonance of the 12-string, almost like hearing two guitarists. The same goes for “Swarm,” where a lush cascade of chords is unleashed, where those chords collide into each other like wind chimes. “The Blue Elephant” is the closest Hammond comes to a conventional song format, a very discernible melody that would be easy to apply lyrics to. He also uses a slide here and again during “If This Is the End, It Was Beautiful,” inserted slyly underneath the main chord.

Not many people can create music that at once strongly evokes the sounds of a century ago and also be very experimental, but that comes naturally to Ross Hammond, and he does it again for Our Time.