TLR 163: bill nace bill nace plays the 2 string taishogoto LP via bandcamp.
releases february 27, 2026. 140g LP (black vinyl, ) - $28.50.digital via bandcamp.
"Bill Nace Plays the 2 String Taishogoto" is a record that feels to me like a torch set on fire for the dark ages, or maybe more like an immolation. Nace is a singular figure of the American underground with a catalogue of creative output that stretches across mediums, people, places, drawings, sounds, images, instruments. I've been lucky enough to call him a close friend for 3 decades now. There's a quality to Bill's playing that's unique and hard to put words to, but I've seen it show up in many different settings. When Bill plays people stop and listen up. There's recognition that something extraordinary is happening. It breaks through the surface of guitars, bands, and bars as a wake-up call.
In this case we're treated to 2 glorious sides of the solo version of Bill, each with its own quality. The flame is light on side A. A spirally loop sets the ground as a metallic and deeply pleasurable voice moans and wails through different forms. Bill rides the wind horse with expertise that can only come from years of broken amps and sound systems. The feedback continuously threatening to spill over only to find a new expression. A full range of faces, colors, and shapes emerge from the 2 strings beautifully. Play it loud and it might smash the windows in your house.
The format is flipped upside down on side B. A single series of notes is repeated, but it's not a loop. Blood is pumping, muscles are twitching, a body is moving to generate these sounds. There's simplicity and tension in the form at first. But my brain begins to relax into it and the space that opens up is vast. My sense of time is altered as overtones and harmonics are bouncing off the walls of a large room. Again, the range of the 2 strings is endless and beautiful. 2 strings, 2 sides, different yet connected to each other. Like Bill himself, I'm grateful this music exists and that I'm here to witness it. Light it up for yourself and see.
John Truscinski, June 2025