Shadow Stories Album

"What obscure, overlooked master playing in some slashing, raw-yet-virtuosic manner is this?" asked Nels Cline.In this, her solo debut, guitarist Ava Mendoza starts from old melodies already tattooed on your brain, then applies sufficient heat to peel that paint leaving you re-pinked and wondering what's next. What's next are original compositions, heavy, gorgeous, oddly reverby, layers that build, blister and flake away to alight indelibly on your mind. Just as Mendoza reprises those traditional tunes, you discover she's walked you far into a lost countryside. How, or whether, to get back will be your own business. Gatefold package with artwork by Suzanne Shaffer, mastered by Jake Rodriguez, and liner notes from Nels Cline.