Guapo: Obscure Knowledge
Richard Gehr on September 24, 2015
Psychedelic prog-rock’s mysterium tremendum beckons throughout Obscure Knowledge, English quartet Guapo’s captivating 43-minute tour de force. With several minutes of droning pipes slipped between lengthy ensemble sections, Obscure Knowledge is a smoothly flowing tapestry of musical moments that reappear and disappear into the flux. Guapo is Spanish for a good-looking dude; the album title comes from Aldous Huxley; and the quartet, led by founding drummer, David J. Smith, features some deeply entrained playing. Guapo evokes the spirit of Hawkwind, Todd Rundgren’s earliest Utopia and dark Phish while dropping plenty of new alchemy itself.
Artist: Guapo
Album: Obscure Knowledge
Label: Cuneiform
