Steven R. Smith, Kohl (side A)

Steven R. Smith may be best known for his work with the large Jeweled Antler ensembles Mirza and Thuja, but he's also been making diverse solo albums consistently since 1996.  2002's Kohl features Smith on solo guitar, with occasional use of layering.  While fingerpicked acoustic guitar has been fashionable for many years now, Smith relies primarily on strummed electric here.  It's neither really extroverted nor introverted — the strumming is often fast and dense, but rarely heavy or aggressive.  Kohl consists of a series of short tracks that are differentiated by strumming pattern and tonality.  A notable exception is a short and sparse arrangement of Roscoe Mitchell's "Odwalla".  Sonically, Kohl references 90s lo-fi recordings — the guitar recordings are fairly murky.  The packaging is especially nice, with a letterpressed cover, a hand-assembled booklet with stapled inserts, and an additional cardstock insert — it fits the simple, personal music nicely.