"The Southern Oracle", by the South Carolina based artist Jonathan Tribble, is a gracious trip that leads us through some quiet and solitary paths, with music as our only guide. The six instrumental tracks that make up this release are a perfect soundtrack for a walk in the peaceful forest, with the guitars gently cradling our wandering thoughts and the percussions echoing our steps on the grassy soil. The lack of lyrics is compensated by the melodies of the slide guitar, which narrate stories of misty sunrises and carry the smell of the treetrunks after the rain.
Occasionally, the melodies become more tense and the chords more suspensed, almost foreshadowing some impending change. The opening track, titled "Low", is a good example: I can imagine it being played in a Quentin Tarantino-ish movie during the montage that shows the main character heading towards the final duel against their mortal nemesis.
If I have to find a flaw, is that in some of the tracks I feel like the drums sound not very well glued together with the other instruments (but this apparently is a pet peeve of mine, I'm never happy of the drums mix in my own music, so don't take it personally). Luckily it's an issue that only appears in some isolated occasions, otherwise the production is very balanced and enjoyable.
If you like soft, meditative instrumental music, a sound rooted in folk music but with a strong bluesy component, if you love it when someone makes a guitar talk, this album will definitely give you a pleasant 20 minutes. And since a full-lenght album is apparently in the works to be released in winter, I can't say much apart from stay tuned!
