James Blackshaw

Along with Americans like Jack Rose and Glenn Jones, James Blackshaw has helped revive 12-string acoustic guitar work a la John Fahey and Sandy Bull. But unlike his peers, Blackshaw draws more from modern classical and new age than folk and blues. The title, Litany of Echoes, says it all. The Brit primarily explores minimalist repetition and multilayered drones. That sounds kind of heavy, but it really isn't. Blackshaw ain't some noisemonger; he reaches for a beauty that's straight-up classic.