{"id":23210,"date":"2012-10-26T06:02:55","date_gmt":"2012-10-26T11:02:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=23210"},"modified":"2013-02-05T16:30:56","modified_gmt":"2013-02-05T21:30:56","slug":"gretchen-menn-hale-souls-cd-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2012\/gretchen-menn-hale-souls-cd-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Gretchen Menn | Hale Souls<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Alissa Ordabai<\/span>
\n– Senior Columnist —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"GretchenIt is rare for an artist\u2019s influences to be so obviously transparent but at the same time to be absorbed so organically into personal style to create an instantly recognizable identity. This is the case of Gretchen Menn \u2013 an up-and-coming new name in the world of instrumental guitar who seamlessly coheres genres from baroque to rock with her own unique sound and compositional signature. <\/p>\n

Menn\u2019s debut full-length album Hale Souls released in 2011 is one of the most promising instrumental guitar records of the beginning of this decade. It makes you forget the curiosity factor of Menn being a female rock guitarist, and places the focus where it should be – on the music. Her chops are so dapper and her knack for composition so gripping, you know right away that here is an upper league contender, eliminating all need for concessions.<\/p>\n

\u201cScrap Metal\u201d is a perfect heavy weaponry opener \u2013 raw-edged metal riffs and shifting time signatures serving as a launching pad for Menn\u2019s solo extrapolations strutting the fine line between poeticism and grit. There are echoes of Steve Morse\u2019s jazz fusion and Jimmy Page\u2019s Presence<\/em>-era phrasing (both Mores and Page are Menn\u2019s personal guitar heroes), but it\u2019s the way in which she assimilates them into her own vision that distinguishes her from the imitators. While many imitate to flatter their heroes and to acquire cred for themselves, Menn\u2019s approach to her influences is about continuity of culture and succession. <\/p>\n

The way she develops her melodies without reserve or bombast \u2013 while never overplaying \u2013 seems to be not acquired, but ingrained, a part of her laconic style, and of her disinterest in self-aggrandizement. Unity of chops and purpose is Menn\u2019s main trait, on par with her wide stylistic latitude. <\/p>\n

And speaking of latitude, acoustic tracks such as \u201cD\u00e9j\u00e0 vu\u201d and \u201cFading\u201d highlight a different side of her character away from the expansive swagger of her rock cuts. She can approach tender themes without sentimentality, with her vocabulary of techniques (from volume knob tricks to tapping) used to arrive at an artfully illuminated, carefully constructed sound, with plenty of aural space, and truth of feeling coinciding with the crisp clarity of her performance. The end result is a hypnotizing, but at the same time lucidly clear atmosphere of an artist who keeps in balance self-search and respect for her listener.<\/p>\n

Then, of course, there is Menn\u2019s love for baroque music. Having studied classical guitar since young age, Menn is an intuitive when it comes to art music sensibility. So imitations of an era long gone don\u2019t sound mechanistic or artificial, but curiously fresh and free of mannerism.<\/p>\n

There are enough compositional ideas, true proofs of immense dedication, and real gift for self-discovery on Menn\u2019s first full-length release to ignite real interest not simply among the guitar aficionados, but a wider audience. The directions she explores are so diverse and so intriguing (just the way it is with all debuts from big artists) that you are only left to wonder where the first steps of the journey will ultimately lead to. <\/p>\n

Genre: rock, art music<\/p>\n

Personnel:
\nGretchen Menn \u2013 guitar
\nStu Hamm \u2013 bass
\nJohn Mader \u2013 drums
\nEmily Palen \u2013 violin
\nGuest artists:
\nAngeline Saris \u2013 bass on \u201cScrap Metal\u201d
\nJude Gold \u2013 second acoustic guitar on \u201cFast Crowd\u201d
\nKirsten Menn \u2013 vocals on \u201cFading\u201d<\/p>\n

Track List:
\n1. Scrap Metal
\n2. Oleo Strut
\n3. D\u00e9j\u00e0 vu
\n4. Valentino\u2019s Victory Lap
\n5. Fast Crowd
\n6. Is It Not Strange
\n7. Captured Barricade
\n8. Walking Shadow
\n9. Struck Sleepless
\n10. Fading<\/p>\n

Label: Mach Zero Records<\/p>\n

Online: www.gretchenmenn.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: 8\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Alissa Ordabai – Senior Columnist — It is rare for an artist\u2019s influences to be so obviously transparent but at the same time to be absorbed so organically into personal style to create an […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6772],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-23210","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-arcrvws2012"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23210","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23210"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23210\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23210"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23210"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23210"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}