Kelson Durian is J. Brown, and “Black Shudders” is his first release under that moniker. That’s as much as I can say about this ep’s background, which otherwise remains totally obscure to me.

On to the music, then. The seven untitled tracks on this cdr feature Brown on guitar/banjo, mostly solo, and beautifully indeed. Percussion and electronics feature occasionally, but the string work is the focus here. The last track strays from that (winning) formula and guitar by synth electronics. While the pieces may lack the epic grandeur of, say, the most memorable Cam Deas tracks, they are more lofi and intimate. None of the tracks even hits the three minute mark. In fact, most are much shorter: intricate sketches, which remind me of older North Sea stuff. This being a great thing in my book, I thoroughly recommend “Black Shudders” to anyone into the more ‘outsider’ aspect of solo guitar.– I’ve had this sitting on my release pile for quite a while and it is limited to 200, but appears to be still available from the label. 8/10 -- Jan-Arne Sohns (7 October, 2009)