Small Tease

Downright pleasant and calm: Folky guitar-led instrumentals with a touch of country twang. VERY surprising given this guy usually hangs with avant-garders like Fred Frith. It's not quite Americana -- chords often get dissonant, without breaking the serene mood. Think of it as a cross between new age (in a good way) and folk. Probably too pretty for avant-garde shows and too slow for rock/pop shows, but... there's certainly a place for it.

Berthiaume's guitars (acoustic, some electric) are the star, but you've also got occasional drumming and bass, a steel guitar (2) and a string trio (11).

1- Charming twang plus drums
2- Heavy guitar vibrato, slow, some dreamy steel guitar
3- Gentle waterfall flow of notes, a few dissonant moments
4- Pleasant intro, into mysterious chords finger-picked
5- Calm swaying, nervous scratching percussion
6- Banjo? Steely, bouncy sounds, a quietly joyous sun shower
7- Tough cowboy-film tones, a bit of a departure. Cool.
8- Sleepy, nice, very Western
9- Chiming new agey tones, shimmery
10- Bright, sparkly
11- Mid/slow and pretty; adds strings for some edgy tones