For years, I've counted Tetuzi Akiyama as one of my absolute favorite guitarists. He's been cranking out great records for ages, honing his style and skill in every possible way. Add in Christian Kiefer, who has also put out a string of magnificent releases, and a talented drummer/percussionist in Kevin Corcoran (who has appeared on releases on Weird Forest and played in Antennas Erupt!) and you've got a recipe for something magical. Low Cloud Means Death is a series of sea-inspired improvisations that are fighting a continual battle with the silence between each note. This is sparse music at its finest. Minimal notes float in the air as Corcoran lays a web of various percussion beneath the organic layer Akiyama and Kiefer weave. The instrumentation is varied -- Akiyama sticks to acoustic guitar while Kiefer splits time on accordion, piano, and other vices. What the trio produces ends up coming off like an all-improvised Morton Feldman or something of the like. This is a journey on salt-encrusted waves, traipsing through empty spaces in search of whatever aural mystery can be found. It goes something like this: Thump. Quiet again. Twang, thump. Quiet. Quiet. Still quiet. Distant blap. And let me tell you, it is one fantastic voyage. Limited to 500 copies. Artwork by Eden Hemming Rose.