Labels: Thrill Jockey
Review by: Sean Haughton
For the uninitiated, Dustin Wong is one man carving out gigantic
symphonic sound from one guitar and a lot of pedals. A former player
in Baltimore’s finest explosion of wild noise Ponytail, Wong has since
been found composing brain-breaking pieces of expressive guitar-based
wonder (first as a part of hyperactive guitar duo Ecstatic Sunshine
before continuing solo under his own name).
Here on his fifth full-length (and what he claims to be the third part
of a trilogy), the initial formula of “guitar + a few pedals + nothing
else” gets an upgrade as much of the material utilises bass-imitating
octave effects, percussion and even some vocal parts. The wider scope
allows Wong to stretch beyond his usual limitations and to avoid
falling into a trap of becoming derivative of his previous works.
Ideas flirted with on the likes of ‘Infinite Love’ and previously
within later Ecstatic Sunshine releases become full-blown here. At
times the fuzz is almost metallic and aggressive in tone, a real
departure from his usually upbeat sound.
It is impossible to pick a select track. The album is one piece that
winds, stretches and breathes for 64 Malmsteen-free minutes that bend
the listeners concept of what one person can do to hold a listener’s
attention with a guitar. While much instrumental music (especially
when limited to just guitar) can seem self-indulgent to the point of
total masturbation, Wong has never been in the business of playing
just to show he can play. His spiritual contemporaries are more Steve
Reich or Koji Kondo than Steve Vai. His work remains catchy and
spritely where similar people would release something laborious.
‘Mediation Of Ecstatic Energy’ proves that this deep into a body of
work, the guitarist still has plenty of room to swim around.