Montgomery,Roy R M H Q: Headquarters CD

Four CD set from the veteran New Zealand musician. It's been over a decade since Roy Montgomery's last album, and R M H Q is a hell of a return. This release contains four distinct records of new material. Listening to any of his work is a visceral experience - repeating phrases swell and decay, immersing the listener in the cyclical narrative of his compositions. Montgomery was in his rock band period in the eighties, when the dark, minimalist post-punk of The Pin Group lead into the gloriously open-ended freedoms of Dadamah. After a quiet spell, he returned in the late nineties, producing towering spires of guitar lines that exposed fragility between the strums. With his solo releases and in collaboration with Flying Saucer Attack, Bardo Pond (Hash Jar Tempo), and Chris Heaphy (Dissolve), his focus shifted from the truth-mining of rock music to epic celestialism. His ambitious yet humble tracks outstrip their origins, and Montgomery toured the world sitting cross-legged on the floor, playing twenty-plus-minute compositions. A long period of silence followed, marked only with a split album with Grouper (who lists Montgomery as a primary influence), involvement in Torlesse Super Group, and a couple thematic variations serving as soundtracks for films. Instead, he focused on his personal and professional commitments. Unfortunately, two horrific events preceded his return: the Christchurch earthquakes of 2011 condemned Montgomery's entire neighborhood save for his home, stripping his street of a community; and, as a volunteer firefighter, he saw first-hand the destruction and loss of life in the city center. Additionally, since 2014, illness in the family has dominated his life. Self-expression once again demanded an outlet. R M H Q is four albums conceived and recorded over a very short period, each of them carrying a distinct focus and mood.

1. Tropic of Anodyne - Roy Montgomery 2. Dear Future Loser - Roy Montgomery 3. You Always Get What You Deserve - Roy Montgomery 4. I Was a Distant Star - Roy Montgomery 5. Seven Faded Dreams - Roy Montgomery 6. If and Only If - Roy Montgomery 7. Hanging Melody - Roy Montgomery 8. As the Sun Sets - Roy Montgomery 9. Rough Take-Off 10. .10538 Overdrive 11. Little Big Star 12. Dazed Pig Dreamhome Slide 13. At the Gogol Au Go Go (For Natstya Terekhova) 14. Six Guitar Salute to Peter Gutteridge 15. Making Love in a Blast Furnace 16. Slow Heroes 17. Rough Landing 18. Ten Beers with Five Bears at Two Guns, Arizona 19. I.O.U. Otto 20. Pipeline 21. And Later We Looked Up at the Stars 22. A Guitar Called Boomslang 23. Another David Lynch Thanks, No Ice 24. Chasing Monica Vitti 25. Cocktails with Can 26. Otherness 27. Riding 28. Last Alarm (For Brad Fletcher) 29. Unshore 30. Weathering Mortality (Featuring Voice By Emma Johnston)