GAIN OVER

This sophomore effort from Russian guitar man Jake Pashkin is a pretty neat production; and to the dismay of some and the joy of others a creation investigating less experimental waters than previously.

Unlike so many of his western colleagues Pashkin doesn't seem to be very fond of traditional shredding and exercise-like scale explorations on his ventures. And even when exploring more mainstream-oriented territories this is still so; and although we do get treated to a few Satriani-inspired ventures Pashkin is more focused on doing his own thing - within a chosen framework this time around. Layered melodic explorations, energetic and pace filled soloing bursts broken up by neat slide guitar or power riffs, a few mellow affairs with dreamy soloing and the lush, new-age tinged Cassiopeia as the odd one out on this release.

Personally I found Supermobile to be the most intriguing affair on this exploration, closely followed by Lost Money. The former a more experimental affair featuring synths and percussion to ggod affect, the latter a high charge energy bombardment in a more traditional vein.

It's a good follow up from Pashkin here, and one guitar fans ought to get more familiar with.