Bill Orcutt - How The Thing Sings

I can remember vividly the first time I heard Harry Pussy being played by John Peel. I quickly snaffled their 7" on Planet Records that was around at the time. What a fuckin' band they were!!! Their absence was and still is a massive void which remains to be filled. So fast forward to a number of years later and their string thrasher Bill out of the blue drops a self released 7" and then LP 'A New Way To Pay Old Debts', plus later a tour only record on his own Palilalia imprint. The man is truly back in town with his unique, ferocious damaged and frenzied blues assault. The LP blew my skull wide open, as it did our Brett's. He somehow managed to channel the raw energy of Harry Pussy via American primitivist blues with a full on improvised/avant garde aesthetic. This album channels similar energy. His fingers must be made of kryptonite or something. As with previous releases the recording is super intimate. You can hear him creaking in his chair and giving off vocal growls and moans as he whips up the most intense solo acoustic guitar sounds imaginable. Solo acoustic guitar isn't something I'm massive on these days but Bill is like no other human being I've ever heard with a wooden axe in hand. I know shit all about guitars but he must he must have to frequently change strings as he hammers them to hell. They must get so hot they burn his fingers. You can hear him panting by the end of 'Til I get Satisfied'. He sounds fully drained of his explosive energy.  'Heaven Is Closed To Me Now' however offers a more melancholy direction, recalling some of Loren Connors's stuff. This is the real deal in terms of saddened modern blues. Closer 'A Line From Ol' Man River' switches between rapid and ferocious plucking and fret-work and more minimal, dare I say heartbreaking modes, again with him voicing some sort of incomprehensible language to decode. I reckon this album is further evidence that the man is somehow re-writing the history of blues via his hardcore punk rock noise background. Superb mind-blowing stuff from a truly unique spirit/visionary. Holy shit!