r e v i e w s

How like a Winter - Pastemusic

Ghow like a winter has my absence been from thee..."

monk, the corporeal side of guitarist/songwriter ric hordinski's musical wanderings, borrrows the title for it's latest release from the shakespearean sonnet. "how like a winter" continues to expand and blur the boundries between folk, ambient and alternative music. it features an unusal combination of instruments for a holiday recording. the rare "fretless" guitar is used to present the melody of "greensleeves", giving the renaissance harmony of the music a breath of fresh air. tabla, live drums and drum loops interact with indian sounding violins and other-worldly textures to conjure more wintery atmospheres. the "winter waltz" provides the only lyric on the record, it's haiku-like brevity serves only to underline the quiet intensity of a northern snow storm. "after lightness comes" (the title came from hordinski¹s four year old daughter's euphimism for "morning") has the shimmering motion and ambience of the aurora borealis.

when not touring in the states or europe, hordinski continues to contribute to quite a few recordings, including his seminal work with Cincinnati-based Over the Rhine, production for uber-folk artist David Wilcox and as collaborator/producer for virtuoso guitarist Phil Keaggy. additionally during 2001, hordinski composed and performed the score for a film documentary called "the believers" which studied the social activism of various americans during the last several years. the documentary aired nationally in october. monk are currently negotiating a recording contract with a prominent los angeles based instrumental record label and are looking toward a nationally released record in the second quarter of 2002.