Search - Ben Monder :: Flux

Challenging but Rewarding Music

Jeffrey Burr | brooklyn, ny United States | 04/08/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Okay, for you guitarists out there, this music may be an affront to your ideas about what is technically possible on the guitar. For the more jaded among us, it may be an affront to what you consider to be desirable guitar sounds. If you enjoy technically amazing guitar playing (esp. the solo pieces) and can sit comfortably through two hours of John Cage, you will enjoy this fine album. Not to say that this music is never melodic or open. There are many menorable tunes and the texture is tastefully varied. This is possibly Ben's most challenging (to listen to) album. Most of us come to Ben through jazz; however this music is [mostly] not jazz. It is very composed, and one hates to make demeaning generalizations, but I hear Bela Bartok here just as much as, say, Pat Metheny. I think Ben is one of our most talented guitarists now. Very rewarding for the patient."

How to announce a voice

IRate | 12/21/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Monder comes out swinging with this completely compelling solo arrival producing an expertly measured narcotic combination of texture, timing, and technique."