The Mommy Row

The Mommy Row is guitarist Philip Gayle's monstrous, magma opus; the biggest, jaw-popping swallow one can now take in the upper/outer echelon of free thinking acoustic voyagers. This gent's three previous solo records collected smitten global praise yet held no clues this would be next. Recorded in pristine audiophile splendor, the NYC-via-Houston-based Gayle multi-tracked himself in duo, trio, hell -- sextet catacombs of 12-string guitar, aluminum egg bar, prepared toy piano, baritone ukulele, hand held cymbals, classical guitar, gongs plus an isle more of stringed wood and tempered metals. At its core, Gayle locks these spatial clusters, subtracting adding or multiplying the bent themes that pass between, into a cohesive oft melodic form that shows itself in genius flashes. Orbiting an overtly damaged sphere risen from Eugene Chadbourne, Sun City Girls, Thelonius Monk, Christopher Tree, Harry Bertoia, and years of bedroom perfection, these pieces owe most to the moment of recording. Gayle's style remains totally unique, crossing itself with Oriental motifs, classical, humor, flamenco and free improv leanings.

"'Gyo, Gyo, Gyo, Gyo' opens the record with a burst of sound like the infant Alien had just gnawed its way out of Gayle's guitar's innards and punched its head through the strings. But the music, while spontaneously generated, is hardly random; this is a studio recording with multiple overdubs that articulate a strong interest in unconventional harmony." -- Bill Meyer, Dusted

" ... anybody expecting something as simple as a melody or a beat would be sorely disappointed (and perhaps appalled) by this disc. Gayle's random and continually surprising tracks create, for me, a restful kind of sonic space. There's a rawness to the sounds, but a definitely sophisticated sensibility at work in coming up with the sounds and constructing the tracks. Quite wonderful." -- Stuart Kremsky, Cadence

Released August 16, 2005