Initiate

The concept of duality has been a defining characteristic of guitarist Nels Cline since he first emerged in the late 1970’s. On one hand, there’s the harmonically sophisticated, compositionally rich Nels Cline who contributed to jazz recordings by Tim Berne to Vinnie Golia to Julius Hemphill. On the other, there’s the more extreme, visceral Nels Cline, who brought unbridled power and reckless abandon to the post pun, alternative rock of Mike Watt, Thurston Moore, and the Geraldine Fibbers. Thirty years on, Cline continues to explore this dichotomy whether it’s in his role as lead guitarist for Wilco or with The Nels Cline Singers. The new double CD is a beautifully designed, six panel digi-pak featuring great artwork. The first disc is a new studio album and the second disc is culled from a September 2009 performance at Café du Nord in San Francisco.