Joseph Allred :: “Old Time Fantasias”

Photo: Peter Gumaskas 

Most of the reviews and atmospheric acknowledgments written for The Self Portrait Gospel reflect on the wonderful works of folks I’ve never had the privilege of meeting in person. That is not the case for this write-up. I sincerely struggle to describe and poetically ponder this multi-instrumentalist, melodic master, and all-around sweet and tender human being as he transcends music and artistic pursuit. To me, he’s a neighbor, a dear friend, a brother, and someone I’ve looked up to since I was a teenager. Joseph Allred, known to many as Poor Faulkner, a past member of the sonically subliminal stoner metal band Hellbender that served the 2010s with vigorous volume, or one-half of the dystopian duo Graceless, whatever the musical memory may serve, he’s one of us. Allred’s oscillating output via the prolificacy of the primitive guitar is sonic spiritualism at its best. Pulling from the sleeping spirits of Robbie Basho, John Fahey, Django Reinhardt, Jack Rose, and Steffen Basho-Junghans, to name a few, the merciless maestro of haunting melodies and connections to otherworldly occultisms has returned to the Oklahoma-based label Scissor Tail Records for the release of his second full-length LP on the imprint entitled “Old Time Fantasies.” I’ve known Joey for close to a decade and a half now. You’d think he hailed from someplace way up East, or in the metaphysical Middle Eastern tapestries, but no. He’s from my neck of the woods here in Middle Tennessee, and if there’s anything I’ve learned being submerged in Allred’s rare and rustic reality all these years is that his nocturnal nature and unique universality in the arts come from a place of pure, galactic genius most only read about. His carefully conscious presence is nothing of myth but of discipline, melodic motivation, country-based courtesy, and historic harmony.

Photo: Brother Yeshua

All in all, this was a satisfying record to make. I’m especially grateful to the collaborators for adding their touches and making it a less solipsistic affair than it would have been otherwise. The political climate has changed so much over the last two years that I find it hard to imagine I could make a record with this kind of fantastic mood if I started now. I hope that it can maybe re-enchant those of us who are feeling disillusioned.

As much as I want to initiate a biblical biography on my friend, I’ll keep this relatively short by focusing on his latest work, and how we need this album, and its esoteric energy, now more than ever. If you know anything of Allred’s work, such as past titles like “Mandorla Valley,” “Fire and Earth,” “Branches and Leaves,” “For the Fallen Dawn,” and “Folk Guitar,” then his most recent effort will surely give you whiplash as he introduces a full band of sophisticatedly choice musicians, such as his older brother, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Mikey Allred, fellow Tennessee-based legend Hans Chew, Kelby Clark, Daniel Kimbro, to name a few, to help make this collection of songs the most cosmically charged conjurings of the highest order. Allred’s influences aren’t just those of the primitive perimeters, but of simultaneously existing realities consisting of genres like shoegaze, new wave, and its familiar friend ethereal wave. Bravely blending the romantic rudimentary of Cocteau Twins, one of Allred’s personal favorites, and the cinematic confines of Danny Elfman’s overwhelming odyssey into the iconic imagination, “Old Time Fantasies” is more than just an instrumental album. It’s a spiritual statement to our times, serving as a bountiful backdrop for world peace, cosmic connection, and monumental mania. Without getting too deep into the cesspool of American politics, something that has suffocated our hearts and minds in recent years, we lean into the steady sounds produced by Allred and company, allowing its holy harmony to heal us in profoundly personal ways, yet deeply rooted in community.

With songs like “Rope Swing on the River Styx,” “Moon Dance,” and the album’s foundational opener “The Groundhog,” Allred bridges that gnarly gap between skin and bone by effortlessly exercising what’s already exhausted and eternally emptied within the feverish fibers of just what makes his elemental efforts so timeless, and poetically pungent. Combining the collective input from friends and family, “Old Time Fantasies” summons the sensations found famously in religious ruminations, instead calling on something ancient in its atmospheric alchemy to get the melodic message across. Set for release in the second week of June, the album’s internal mechanisms are built similarly to Kerouac's, while Allred leaves no stone unturned in this universal unity. God bless you, brother bear.

The Self Portrait Gospel

THE SELF PORTRAIT GOSPEL IS BOTH AN ONLINE PUBLICATION AND A WEEKLY PODCAST DEDICATED TO SHOWCASING THE DIVERSE CREATIVE APPROACHES AND ATTITUDES OF INSPIRING INDIVIDUALS IN THE WORLD OF MUSIC AND THE ARTS. OUR MISSION IS TO HIGHLIGHT THE UNIQUE AND UNPARALLELED METHODS THESE ARTISTS BRING TO THEIR LIFE AND WORK. WE ARE COMMITTED TO AN ONGOING QUEST TO SHARE THEIR STORIES IN THE MOST COMPELLING AND AUTHENTIC WAY POSSIBLE.

https://www.theselfportraitgospel.com/
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Chris Spedding :: “Guitar Graffiti”