They really are the Gutierrez Brothers (Alejandro and Estevan), and just like their Ennio Morricone-esque rambles, they're not from the American west. Or even the western hemisphere. They're born and raised Switzerland.

Hermanos Gutierrez El Bueno y el Malo (Easy Eye Sound)

They found some Internet fame during the Covid times, and Dan Auerbach asked them to come over to his studio to record. They did, and he managed to pare down their sound to something even more expansive and minimalist than their earlier recordings.

By the way, these songs are two guitars talking to each other. That's it. No percussion. No vocals. No bass. The percussive noises are guitar-based as well. These songs sound live to tape, and while I doubt that's actually true, there is a delicate thread between the two guitars. The conversation rises and falls, but it doesn't lose its intensity.

Fans of Dirty Three's Horse Stories will find a kinship here. The ambles, the rolling rhythm of the saddle--it's so easy to picture the scrub and the mountains in the distance. These songs will never be played during a hockey game, but they fit right in for those looking to journey. Terrifyingly gorgeous.

Jon Worley