Summoning Suns

Fingerstyle guitar virtuoso Blackshaw’s first singer-songwriter album. This is a much more relaxed and compact effort than Blackshaw’s previous releases—no epic 15-minute odysseys here. Just some really pretty, precious, folk-influenced tunes, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that when someone like Blackshaw is at the wheel. RIYL William Tyler, Ryley Walker, Lambchop. Favorites: 2, 4, 6, 7. No FCCs detected.

1. (2:13)—Instrumental. Cheery piano, bells, organ.
2. *(4:33)—Soft, freewheeling duet with violin. Sugary but pleasant.
3. (5:58)—Slow, more in a pleasant slowcore style. Flute + piano outro.
4. *(4:38)—Mid-tempo, melancholy but bouncy. Strings. Really pretty.
5. (5:55)—Medium-slow, jazzy, breezy.
6. *(5:46)—Starts soft, driving. Duet in Japanese. A little pedal steel, some swelling orchestral flourishes.
7. *(3:07)—Instrumental. Crystalline minor-key fingerpicking.