Solace

Using only a pair of acoustic guitars and a raft of effects, the instrumental duo of John Wilkins and Clay Walton blow right past the usual John Fahey-inspired avant folk clichés and land directly into ambient post-rock territory: the Austin duo owes much more to the likes of Charalambides, Flying Saucer Attack, and (especially) New Zealand experimental guitar master Roy Montgomery than to M. Ward or Loren MazzaCane Connors. With the exception of the epic 20-minute bliss-out "Ocean M31," the 15 songs on their second album are brief explorations of specific sounds and moods, rarely merely pretty but keeping away from full-on atonal noise. At album's end, the transcendently lovely "Balfour Hollis" serves as a brief, melodic release to an album that expertly maintains a subtle but effective tension throughout.