You might remember Austin TX based label Quiet Design (run by our very own contributing writer Mike Vernusky) for their original take on steel drum in experimental music (which I reviewed a couple of years ago). Similarly to that release, this compilation aims at offering a new perspective of contemporary ways of how guitar can be used in the fringe musical genres that we came to love so much. With artists joining in from everywhere around the world, "Spectre" offers ambient soundscapes, artsy noodling, minimal sophisticated playing and highly processed soundscapes, all rigorously created with the beloved stringed instrument (which sometimes is easy to forget and is still surprising every time you remind yourself while listening). My favorite pieces are the minimalist acoustic piece by Tokyo-based Tetuzi Akiyama, the poly-chromatic colorful but dark composition by Mike Vernusky himself and Erdem Helvacioglu's ethereal and crystallized experimentations; the other featured artists include: Sebastien Roux and Kim Myhr (minimalist guitar based glitch music), Quiet Design's right hand Cory Allen (eerie and melancholic ambient textures), Keith Rowe (experimentations with noise and subdued feedbacks) and the prolific, reclusive and self-indulging Jandek who just strums away his detuned guitar while doing some drunken lamenting singing and even playing some harmonica (I guess Mike made an exception for him - there's a documentary movie about him on Netflix if you are curious about his music). "Spectre" also features beautiful organic art work and photography by Michael McGill, who does all of Quiet Design's covers.