Mark McGuire

As a member of Cleveland-based guitar and synth trio Emeralds, Mark McGuire has seen a new audience take an interest in his band with the release of Does It Look Like I'm Here and an impending fall tour with Caribou. But McGuire has also seen his stock rise as a result of this attention, setting up the perfect launch for his new solo album and first for the label he shares with Emeralds: Editions Mego. Having previously released countless limited edition CD-Rs and cassettes, Living With Yourself is the guitarist's most cohesive, and available, album. Unfolding like some This Is Your Life episode, McGuire reflects on his existence and relationships via evocative guitar playing, using both acoustic and electric. Through samples lifted from childhood tape recordings, McGuire achieves his intended nostalgia, weaving in and out of warm, humming guitar-scapes that range from overdriven power chords, digitally delayed bridges and ingeniously layered picking. For an instrument that receives such little love as technology moves forward, Living With Yourself is a testament to McGuire's craft, but even more, his capacity to break free from its limitations.