Ignatz - We Used To Smoke Inside

Ignatz - I Live In A Utopia [Goaty Tapes, 2015]

"What makes this tape different from all other Ignatz tapes? Not much really. The hermitic constancy of Ignatz’s songs is part of his greatness. This is Belgium’s finest guitar loner doing what he always does—sending chills down spines by way of the minor pentatonic.

There is, however, something distinctly “at ease” about these recordings. They are longer and dreamier than previous ones. Ignatz’s voice is softer and rounder. What once were funeral songs now sound hymnal; some almost have an Americana pietism. Perhaps the move from Brussels to the small town of Landen gave license to Ignatz’s solitary tendencies. I’m inclined to believe in the album title’s joyousness (the last one was called “I Hate this City”). I guess this is Ignatz when things are going pretty well."