“Witch’s Ladder” out now on CD and download – vinyl (due 30.07) available to preorder from all good record shops /sites or direct from https://deanmcphee.bandcamp.com (distributed by Cargo Records/Forced Exposure)
“Witch’s Ladder” is the fourth full length album from UK guitarist Dean McPhee, whose last LP “Four Stones” (2018) introduced a kick drum pulse, hypnotic loops and synth-like Ebow lines to his sparsely meditative, echo-laden solo guitar music. On this new album he uses his Telecaster, valve amp and effects to weave an even deeper spell, as fingerpicked melodies soar over hypnotic riffs, looped basslines and cosmic reverb trails.
Recorded live with no overdubs and inspired by folklore, mysticism and the landscapes of the North of England, “Witch’s Ladder” represents a significant evolution in his sound, while also retaining the unique sense of depth and space that has drawn comparison with the likes of Loren Connors, Dylan Carlson and Popul Vuh.
The cover art to “Witch’s Ladder” features the stunning 1933 painting “The Primal Wing” by Agnes Pelton, a visionary symbolist who was not widely known during her lifetime but is now being recognised as a pioneer of spiritual abstract art alongside the likes of Hilma Af Klimt and Wassily Kandinsky.
“Spellbinding…a beautiful and evocative record…highly recommended” (Terrascope)
“Another masterclass of reverberant, landscape guitar. Think Evening Star meets Gordale Scar” (Uncut Magazine)
“Luminous long-trail abstractions of electric guitar, transcendent dub-like excursions…bright finger-picked melodies repeatedly echoing into dark abstraction, like a flickering camp fire in a pitch-black night” (MOJO Magazine)
“A magical, often hypnotic listen…a moody, mesmerising set” (Morning Star)
“Haunted landscapes of echo and hum…not quite blues, not quite folk, not quite jazz, not quite anything but gorgeous” (Dusted Magazine)
“There’s a subtle sense of momentum and purpose that runs through Witch’s Ladder, climbing patiently towards something magical and memorable”. (Doom & Gloom From The Tomb)
