Unwed Sailor
Lovesick Recordings
Unwed Sailor is the newest project of bassist extraordinaire Johnathon Ford of the highly acclaimed Roadside Monument and Pedro the Lion. It's an instrumental act driven by the sound of Ford's shimmering bass, which is impressive in both its gentleness and its confidence. Ford's liquid bass work is complemented by Nicholas Tse's clean, rippling guitar lines.Unwed Sailor's instrumental explorations are invariably meditative and intriguing.
The group coalesced around 1998 as an outlet for Ford to explore musical ideas that didn't seem to fit into the context of his other bands. Recruiting drummer David Bazan and guitarist KC Weston, he quickly recorded Unwed Sailor's first EP, Firecracker (Made in Mexico). It features "Ruby's Wishes," a moving instrumental track which seems to promise good things to come, striking in its economy and grace. That track got picked up soon after by Sign Language Records, which featured it on their It Goes without Saying instrumental composition.
After relocating from Seattle to Chicago, Ford reinvented the band with new friend Tse. After touring with the likes of Pedro the Lion and Low, the duo settled in to record a full-length with some help from their friends. 2001's The Faithful Anchor (Lovesick) centers on the calm, cool, melodic interplay of bass and guitar. The relationship between the two instruments is a sort of ongoing, evolving thing over the course of the album, embellished and highlighted by tasteful violins, keyboards, percussion, and more.
Jesse Ashlock
last updated:
10/05/01
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