WhatzUp

Strange Ships on a Blue Horizon
Kevin Hiatt
by Jason Hoffman

A body can’t hardly go out these days without bumping into Kevin Hiatt somewhere. Whether it’s Higher Grounds or Munchies or an open mic, it seems that Kevin is just about everywhere, playing any kind of guitar he can get his hands on. And with more than 80 compositions to his name, when he’s not out playing it seems that he’s composing what he plans to play next. With Strange Ships on a Blue Horizon, his follow-up to the impressive Another Look at the Sunrise, Hiatt presents 12 of his creations in a variety of styles so that the infirm, the shut-ins and parents of school-aged children have a chance to hear his music.

The first thing you’ll notice upon spinning the title track is the technically impressive way Hiatt approaches six-, seven- and 12-string guitars. He doesn’t so much strum as attack them with a manic flurry of harmonics, hammer-ons, pull-offs, slapping, percussive knocks and frenzied fingerpicking that is as dizzying to hear as I’m sure it is remarkable to see live. And somehow he always manages to work in a few good melodies to draw you in.

As on his first album, there are a number of seriously complicated and earnest instrumental compositions for solo acoustic guitar. “To Dance Beside a Whispering Sea” is a serene excursion with a pastoral feel and very nice cello accents. The lone ballad, “Letter To A Friend,” is a beautifully written and performed piece, gushing heartfelt emotion throughout its brief length. Not so brief is the seven-minute “Another Day at the Office (part two),” which begins slowly, perhaps gradually waking up while on the clock, and then comes to life amid a flood of excited notes that begins the melodic events of the day. “Chasing Horses” indeed sounds like its name with Hiatt using a lone 12-string and no overdubs to create the rambling, powerful sound of a herd of galloping horses. Perhaps the strongest of the instrumentals is “Pennsylvanian Satyr Dance,” about a country wedding. In just three and a half minutes Hiatt is able to convey the joy of the occasion and the rural backgrounds of the wedding party, effortlessly building up the multi-part melody with great panache and skill.

There are also band songs in a variety of styles. As Neil Parnin at Ozone Recording Company handled the engineering and mixing duties you can be assured that even these tracks sound crisp and clear. “Julie Butterfly Hill” is a rushing ragged folk rocker with drums by Ryan Trinkofsky, Travis Brown’s slippery double bass and Sam Smiley’s electric guitar. “You Know Who To Call” is an 80s-era romantic pop song with a thin, reedy organ complementing Kevin’s clean, capable vocals. The last three vocal songs deal with less-happy subjects. Both “Queen of the Red Lion” and “Daddy’s Little Girl” benefit from the pedal steel guitar of Gary Martin, the former being a relaxed pop song with faraway twang and lyrics such as “She ducks into the ladies room to powder her nose/ But I don’t think it’s with makeup.” “Girl” tells the weepy country tale of a woman who got pregnant at 16 and divorced at 21, just for starters. For “Roadside Crosses,” Hiatt breaks out the harmonica, choosing to invoke spoken lyrics to great effect and inviting the living to live their lives by telling about the young for whom “death, I’m sure, was the last thing on their minds” before being involved in automobile accidents now remembered by weatherbeaten roadside crosses.

Strange Ships on a Blue Horizon is definitely an album for die-hard fingerpick guitar mavens, but Kevin Hiatt packs enough melody and accessible lyric-driven songs into the mix that music fans of all stripes should find something to enjoy. Song samples, ordering information and even sheet music can be found at www.kevinhiatt.com. Or just ask Hiatt when you see him everywhere, guitar in tow.