Mark McGuire: Get Lost

“Get Lost” might just be what many are considering to say to Mark McGuire and his relentless cavalcade of still life/guitar-centric/droney/ambient/post-rock releases. Get Lost is his second 2011 release on Editions Mego, a label whose residency is prime real estate for the jet setting texturalist flock. McGuire is disciplined and cautious, making his discography, particularly the strummy guitars binding most pieces, a murky trek of selfsameness to waddle through for the manna he occasionally transubstantiates.

It’s also the exact opposite of the wild ephemera that makes Emeralds cohort John Eliot’s Spectrum Spools label (an imprint of Editions Mego) such a roaring success. Yet, beyond the structural suture of earthen folk is a dazzling spectacle of unguitar-like effects and affects. These are the types of things McGuire benefits from getting lost in, and only occasionally does he here, on the seemingly endless (in a good way) “Firefly Constellations” and the deep voice bellows of “Alma”. Overall, the title should be instructive, but McGuire still seems all too comfortable and way too sure of exactly where he stands on Get Lost.