FEATURE: ELVIS COSTELLO INTERVIEW
On Secret, Profane, and Sugarcane, the mercurial songwriter is armed with his Gibson J-50, a top-notch string band, and tales of murder and rock ’n’ roll mayhem—1850s style. [More]

PRIVATE LESSON: MURIEL ANDERSON
The award-winning guitarist talks about making music come alive, developing speed, and playing in odd time signatures. With video. [More]

PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: JUSTIN TOWNES EARLE
The son of Steve Earle comes into his own. [More]

FEATURE: DESIGNING THE PERFECT FINGERSTYLE GUITAR
Five renowned guitarists and guitar makers talk about the process of designing and building a great fingerstyle guitar. With video. [More]

FEATURE: 12-STRINGS FOR ANY BUDGET
We test six 12-strings ranging in price from $330 to $3,900. With video. [More]

NEW GEAR REVIEW: RAINSONG CONCERT SERIES CO-WS1000N2
A lively, rich-sounding carbon-fiber grand concert. With video. [More]

NEW GEAR REVIEW: DAISY ROCK BUBINGA BUTTERFLY
Affordable, easy-to-play acoustic-electric jumbo delivers strong bass and wide dynamic range. With video. [More]

NEW GEAR REVIEW: DPA 4099 MICROPHONE
New clip-on microphone from Danish audio experts provides studio-quality guitar sound onstage. With video. [More]

RHETT MILLER, Rhett Miller
On his fourth solo album, the leader of the Old 97’s returns with a batch of intriguing songs that marry melancholy stories with carefree-sounding tunes. Reeling from the loss of his grandmother and the suicide of his hero, author David Foster Wallace, Miller is clearly dealing with a different kind darkness this time out. In most cases, his downbeat sentiments don’t jibe with his music as well as the resilient words from records past, and romance only rears its head on the final pair of songs: “Lashes,” an atmospheric love song with a lush ’80s vibe not unlike the Psychedelic Furs, and “Sometimes,” a solo acoustic ditty reminiscent of the Old 97’s classic “Question.” Fortunately, Miller’s buoyant melodies keep the heavier songs afloat. On subdued songs like “Bonfire,” his whispered vocals are perfectly supported by simple acoustic guitar strumming and tremolo-drenched electric leads, but other tracks, like “Caroline,” feel overly arranged and too carefully crafted, shifting awkwardly from driving, compelling choruses back to half-time verses where the parts seem a bit grafted and overdubbed, lacking the immediacy and power of his live performances. It’s when Miller slows down the tempo and turns down the volume that you can truly hear what he’s feeling. (Shout Factory, shoutfactory.com)
—DREW PEARCE

ALASDAIR ROBERTS, Spoils
The work of Scottish singer-songwriter Alasdair Roberts has always been deeply indebted to Scottish and Celtic folk traditions. He’s even recorded complete albums of traditional British Isles tunes. Yet with his latest release, Spoils, Roberts proves that these timeless and ancient forms can be the foundation for some gloriously odd and inventive musical architecture. Most of the songs on Spoils are textured with a mix of rock band instrumentation (electric bass, synthesizer, electric guitar) and traditional and antique sounds from baroque and 19th-century guitars, harpsichords, hurdy-gurdy, dulcimer, flute, and glockenspiel. But the overall effect of the blend is more subtle than jarring, and the crafty arrangements never get in the way of Roberts’s classically tinged melodies, his striking voice, or his brilliant wordplay. In fact, for all the instrumental texture, it is Robert’s twisting song structures, full of tempo shifts and instrumental drops and breaks, that are most revealing of Robert’s experimental inclinations and eagerness to deconstruct British Isles folk. For all the unexpected turns, there’s a lot here to keep the more traditionally minded folk-rock fan engaged. “You Muses Assist,” for instance, is a dusty shuffle that wouldn’t be out of place on the Grateful Dead’s Workingman’s Dead. But the real payoff with Spoils is the richness and invention that reveals itself over repeated listens, and the delight at realizing how much life remains in the oldest folk realms for those willing to tinker with the forms. (Drag City, dragcity.com)
—CHARLES SAUFLEY

For more CD reviews, go to AcousticGuitar.com/playlist.

SEPTEMBER 2009: Learn how to start playing other acoustic instruments like mandolins and banjos; Lloyd Loar’s legacy; reviews of the National Triolian, Ovation iDea, and the Genz Benz SHEN-CPK-10T amp; Radiohead’s “Karma Police” and the classic ode to the Summer of Love, “San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair).”

OCTOBER 2009: Pete Huttlinger lesson; reviews of the Guild D-40 and the Seagull Maritime SWS mini-jumbo; 1928 Gibson Nick Lucas; and Pete Seeger’s “Turn, Turn, Turn” and Bruce Springsteen’s “The Wrestler.”

NOVEMBER 2009: Robert Johnson lesson; a guide to National ResoPhonic guitars; reviews of the R. Taylor Style 3 and the Trace Acoustics TA-200 amp; and Andy McKee’s take on “Africa” and the Doobie Brothers’ “Black Water.”

Advertise in Acoustic Guitar Notes
E-mail us about your subscription to Acoustic Guitar Notes
Sign up for other Acoustic Guitar e-newsletters
Guitar Maker Directory
Guitar Talk discussion forums
Advertise in Acoustic Guitar magazine or on Acoustic Guitar All Access
Subscribe to Acoustic Guitar magazine
Subscribe to Acoustic Guitar All Access
Earn revenue as a Web Affiliate
Subscriber services
Back issues of Acoustic Guitar magazine
Acoustic Guitar store
StringLetter.com