The acoustic guitar has been a mainstay of popular music through a myriad of genres over the last   150+ years. Through folk, country, blues, jazz and classical music it’s persisted and provided the soundtrack for generations of players, from the back porch to concert halls, juke joints to folk clubs. 

One particular strand that emerged in the 1950s was termed American primitive guitar, a derivative of country blues fingerpicking that was developed initially by John Fahey, who incorporated non-traditional melodic and harmonic elements and took influence from both classical and Indian music.

In the 21st century, the style has enjoyed renewed popularity through players such as Jack Rose, William Tyler, Jim O’Rourke, James Blackshaw and Gwenifer Raymond. Here in Australia we have some local exponents of the form who have carved out their own niche in the primitive guitar realm, most recently DC Cross.

Cross came to fame in the 90s as one third of indie electro-rock group Gerling before expanding his talents into the E.L.F, Jep and Dep and a solo career that has swerved from singer-songwriter material to electronic excursions. While he’s still occasionally releasing experimental rock records, for now he seems intent on continuing to establish himself as an auteur of the six-string acoustic guitar.

Cross’ brand new fourth instalment of instrumental fingerpicked compositions is Wizrad, which continues his clever run album titles – Ecstatic Racquet, Terabithian and Hot-Wire The Lay-Low. From the opening recording of a curious neighbour across the back fence, we’re led into a wildly evocative collection of pieces that intoxicate, hypnotise and invigorate with an independent spirit and restless creativity. 

You can trace a real arc in the technical development of Cross’ playing since the album Ecstatic Racquet in 2019. Those compositions were simpler and based around singular ideas whereas Wizrad is a step into whirling dervish playing where he creates the illusion of multiple instruments with cascading, overlapping melodies, delivering a serotonin rush to the listener. Technically he’s taken another leap forward, sounding more relaxed yet more urgently inspired to thrill the listener, but never for the sake of showing off. 

‘A Harebrained Adventure of An Amateur Shaman’ is a great example of how Cross establishes a rhythmic drone and then flys in all manner of stepping patterns and darting runs of notes, while still maintaining that initial central undercurrent to the piece, even as the song gallops to a pulse-quickening climax. “Brumby Revisited’ does the same while embarking on supremely melodic and exquisitely levitational passages.

There’s a wonderful lyrical quality to Cross’ playing which combines mood and melody. That combination of note selection and harmonic interplay forges a feeling of melancholy, nostalgia, sadness, excitement and blissed-out reverie at various times. What really impresses is how he is able to guide and shape his compositions into places that avoid cliched new age or hippie peace jams. At times there are referential hints to the tunings and cool swerves of underground rock bands like Sonic Youth, which add to the compelling nature of Cross’ playing.

Cross still casts a nod to his more cosmic and psychedelic side with the hazed-out vapour trails of ‘New Page’ and closer ‘The Astral Plane’, which are more akin to the ambient, gravity-free drift of GAS or Eno. ‘Pathway To The Oboe Guitarist’ combines the digitally processed avant garde with the acoustic instrument, like a machine trying to replicate the human form. As a result, Wizrad conjures up both the untamed Australian landscape and the contemporary suburban experience, an impressive feat for an instrumental record.