CHILD OF BLISS

Canadian NICK JOHNSTON has been just one of many gifted guitarists embarking on a career of instrumental guitar rock in the vein of Joe Satriani, Guthrie Govan, Eric Johnson, Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, Pat Metheny and so many many more. Although performing in his band Archival, JOHNSTON has mostly been a session musician playing with Paul Gilbert, Marco Minnemann, Guthrie Govan, Brian Beller, Scale The Summit, Periphery and many more. He's also been a dedicated solo artist having released a total of seven albums under his own namesake to date.

Starting out with this 2011 debut "Public Display of Infection," JOHNSTON has consistently delivered melodic doses of instrumental guitar rock that mixes hard rock, prog and jazz along with layers of synthesized atmospheres. His latest CHILD OF BLISS follows in the same vein of his previous offerings only on this album, he dedicates all the songs to his wife whose Japanese name Sachiko translates into English as the album title - CHILD OF BLISS. NICK plays all the guitar, keyboards and synthesizers on this new release and has recruited a number of guest musicians to add the extra touches including Eli Bishop (strings), Liam Mitro (sax, woodwinds) Mark Rynkun (bass) and Thomas Lang (drums).

CHILD OF BLISS features eight instrumental tracks that add up to exactly 37 minutes of playing time and deliver his well-known melodic take of heavily produced guitar rock. Nurturing strong melodic constructs with lush lead guitar work over proggy / jazzy chord progressions, JOHNSTON delivers a dreamy album that displays a romantic magical happy modality almost exclusively in mellow mood. Reminding me of Steve Vai as far as guitar tones go, in the musical department he's more of a Pat Metheny guy with the focus on the subtle aspects of guitar playing rather than tackling lightning blitzkrieg soloing frenzies. In addition to crafting his own musical style, JOHNSTON has also been innovative in releasing his own signature guitar through Schecter.

JOHNSTON primarily focuses on harmonic details, melodic developments and songwriting over any sort of virtuoso moves, which to his credit allows him to deliver lush highly produced instrumentals that offer layers of subtle details but at the same time becomes a bit monotonous over the span of 37 minutes especially when there are no vocal parts to offer any sort of contrast. It's almost as if the music is the karaoke backing of a real set of songs and you have to add your own lyrics. While the music isn't awful to listen to, JOHNSTON's approach is too aerie fairy for my liking most of the time simply because he lacks the diversity that a true guitar master can dish out from start to finish. There's really nothing to make you go wow here as these tones and stylistic approaches have pretty much been tackled before.

An over-reliance on the synthesized atmospheres leaves the music itself sounding calculated and rather middle of the road. While Pat Metheny is famous for his low key guitar approach and similar style, his songwriting techniques were of a superior magnitude and he knew how to keep his music flowing without stagnating from repetition ennui. Admittedly this prog lite guitar instrumental music isn't exactly my bailiwick but i can appreciate any style of music if it is compelling to experience. I just find this rather mediocre and derivative of many of the greats that came before without adding any personal zest or surprises. JOHNSTON is neither a master of interesting songwriting nor a virtuoso on any level. It's an ok listen but not one that really beckons me to explore his past canon either.

I have a little obsession with instrumental albums by guitarists who revolve around Progressive Rock or Jazz-Fusion. Today on the program, no work intended for specialists of the genre, full of hair-raising technical demonstrations devoid of sensitivity, but a perfectly accessible record focused on the melodic aspects. 'Child of Bliss' is the seventh solo album by Canadian Nick Johnston who already has behind him a solid career littered with participation in albums by other artists (Polyphia, Periphery, Intervals,?). The record follows the tradition of both technical and popular guitarists like Joe Satriani or Steve Vai, with blues components à la Jeff Beck or Robert Cray and more contemporary Shred touches worthy of John Petrucci. This album is also marked by the use of acoustic guitar ("Child of Bliss", "Voice on the Wind") and rich orchestral scores ("Momento Vivere", "Little Thorn", "Moonflower"). Album inspired and dedicated to his wife, 'Child of Bliss' is a lovely testimony to the gentleness and sensitivity of Nick Johnston and his guitar.

Review originally posted on www.progcritique.com.