On this impressive debut for Babel, guitarist Dan Messore channels Frisell, Fahey and other masters of the fret board, while managing to create a singular sound world all of his own. The evocative power of Messore's music is evident from the outset in the open spaces and Jarrett-like lyricism of the quartet piece, ‘First Light’. Playing everything by finger rather than plectrum, Messore occasionally draws on extended techniques to open up the instrumental palette. This is heard to especially dramatic effect on the extended introduction to the wonderful ‘Pages To A Friend’, in which a drum stick bouncing off the guitar strings creates the impression of an unchanging, rippling arpeggio. Other highlights include the self-communing ‘Mr Lepard’, the Monkish ‘Ode to Gilly’, the Gershwin standard ‘The Man I Love’ prefaced by a captivating Ballamy solo, the bossa-like ‘New Man New Place’ and the Nashville steel guitar anthem, ‘Bioluminescence.’ A formidable improviser with an assured sense of narrative ebb and flow, Messore's debut really grabs the attention.