Listen: William Tyler - "Whole New Dude"

Last year, right about this time, Nashville guitarist William Tyler put out a record. That record, Impossible Truth, was rather unlike the multitude of other records released at the time or even the whole year. While bands/artists pumped out records that seemed to screech and keen for relevancy, Tyler's Impossible Truth was a revelation in its slow-building organic plod. An album of expansive, patient guitar work - it was an album that seemed much more content to draw absolutely no attention to itself, to lie in wait until the right listener, which the proper amount of appreciation for its supple melodies and silky smooth flow, came along.

Impossible Truth was such a slow burner that I'm rather surprised William Tyler can follow it up quite so soon. And yet, that's clearly a testament to Tyler's musicianship - overflowing with musical ideas but skilled enough to sift through them and give them full breadth of being. There's not a single uninteresting moment in 13 minute offering "Whole New Dude", the bright burning star of Tyler's upcoming Lost Colony EP. After a bit of casual unfurling, "Whole New Dude" gets off to a sumptuous start - William Tyler's bent guitar lines adding just the right splotches of coloring to the rest of Tyler's freewheeling tread. Though always tunefully melodic and pleasantly so, there's always a sense of freedom in Tyler's compositions - that suddenly he'll take an unexpected path and wind up on a very different musical ramble and that's no different here. On "Whole New Dude", Tyler flexes his guitar chops and masterful musicianship with the help of a band while also keeping things on the right side of unpredictable. Tyler's never the sort to suddenly jump ship on a good musical idea but he knows when its outlived its usefulness when all its had to say has been said and transitions to the next one with careful efficiency.

Theoretically, William Tyler's "Whole New Dude" is a song in three parts - it's rousing intro, the spry and spirited meaty development, and its bristling, pseudo-showy coda. The transitions all handled with a delicacy but not quite the sleight of hand you'd expect.



William Tyler's Lost Colony EP is out April 29th on Merge Records.

Listen: William Tyler - "Cadillac Desert"

If you're anything like me, you like maybe even prefer absolute stunning instrumentals over clever lyricism atop rather simplistic arrangements. There's just something so incredibly great about the rather revealing quality of a song that needs to bring it all melodically. Ultimately that's what I'm most drawn to even when there's words attached. What's happening musically?

Well for those like me, you're in luck. Taking his place among instrumental acts like Delicate Steve, Collections of Colonies of Bees or Phil Cook & His Feat, William Tyler is releasing a brand new album with Merge and if idyllic scorcher "Cadillac Desert" is anything to go off off, it's going to be an absolutely amazing collection of melody-laden guitar rock. On it, Tyler goes more places thematically in it's mammoth open air sprawl than most albums do while maintaining a smooth, clear timeline. It's minimalistic without being laboriously so and Tyler's ability to recycle themes while still moving the track along is rather incredible. It's the kind of track that could go on forever and you wouldn't hear a single complaint. It's a wind-swept pastoral reverie without any need for words and you wouldn't have it any other way.

William Tyler's Impossible Truth is out March 19th on Merge Records.