My word, has it really been almost six years since we’ve heard from great unwashed luminaries? As far as I can tell, that name last graced a volume of Ball of Wax on #28, our excellent Dance Party volume. (Although we have heard plenty from the many-hat-wearing head luminary Kelly Minnis – of Ex-Optimists, Invasion Boys, and many other projects – in the intervening years.)
From the sound of “Sunspace Quasar,” one might think he smashed all his keyboards and beep-boop machines (maybe holding onto one key of one synthesizer for drone purposes) and holed himself up in a cabin or basement somewhere with an electric guitar for the past six years, crafting beautiful, melodic soundscapes and watching spaghetti westerns. Or maybe he just really wanted to meld his interests in longform drone-based music and badass electric guitar. Whatever the inspiration, “Sunspace Quasar” is a happy-making 10 minutes of just that. It’s a new turn for great unwashed luminaries, but not a surprising move from a man with a long track record of making fine music in many forms.