John Gregorius - Full of Life (2020) [Hi-Res]

The album's wide open sonic vistas and captivating spaces lifts all listeners to a place of joy and wonder.

Full Of Life, the third album on the Spotted Peccary label from composer and guitarist John Gregorius, is a free flowing, sincere set of compositions brought to life by the time-honored ensemble of guitar, bass, and drums, all richly augmented by synth ambiences, electronic beats, and ambient guitar atmospheres. Moody and elegant, the album's melodic passages and tonal textures guide the listener on a delightful discovery of painted vistas and unfolding beauty.

Imbued with a sense of freedom, the music on Full Of Life remains unified and cohesive while at the same time not confined to the boundaries of one sound as it moves effortlessly through styles ranging from ambient to melodic to post rock. Uninhibited and natural, the ten guitar-centric tracks feel honest and pure with an emotional blend of electric and acoustic guitars, bass, keyboards, and percussion. Tensions build and release creating a sense of drama as the music eases through moments of lush orchestration, gentle melodies, mysterious ambiences, and memorable cinematic peaks. Echoes of Gregorius' earlier works are prevalent, and on Full Of Life he successfully weaves his love of acoustic fingerstyle guitar, ambient electric guitar, thoughtful orchestrated leads, and in-the-pocket rhythmic grooves into a free and easy blend of music that is both accessible and meaningful.

While, for Gregorius, Full Of Life embodies the deep spirit of renewal brought about by his new life in the Sonoran desert, the simple beauty realized in the album's wide open sonic vistas and captivating spaces lifts all listeners to a place of joy and wonder as the music flows through each mood and moment like vital water through a desert arroyo; fluid, graceful, inviting, and refreshing.