Pitchfork

In 2005, Tompkins Square released Imaginational Anthem, an entrancing collection of folk guitar instrumentals from artists both old school (John Fahey, Sandy Bull) and new (Jack Rose, Glenn Jones). The set was compiled with the implicit design of uniting these separate generations along a single unbroken ancestral timeline, with each musician drawing upon a common pool of American Primitive traditions to create his own innovative and highly personalized work. In the short time since its release, the number of musicians working within these traditions has seemed to multiply both in the United States and abroad. So it's little surprise that Tompkins Square has assembled Imaginational Anthem Vol. 2, a sequel that once again pairs some of the leading lights of the current avant-folk subculture (James Blackshaw, Christina Carter, Sharron Kraus) with unearthed vintage folk rarities.

It's difficult to pinpoint the exact reasons for the protracted boom in folk-based, fingerpicked guitar music, but one important factor is the ongoing re-discovery of John Fahey and his Takoma label's extended family tree. Since his death in 2001, Fahey's influence has come to dominate the American underground folk landscape. His extraordinary back catalog has undergone a series of renovations and additions, and his work continues to gather new disciples to the cause. And though Fahey himself does not appear on Imaginational Anthem Vol. 2, he remains a tangible presence throughout the album. Most of the old guard performers here-- Peter Lang, Fred Gerlach, Billy Faier-- recorded for Takoma at one time or another, and nearly all of the newcomers exhibit the direct influence of Fahey's syncretic style.

The real prize find among Vol. 2's dozen tracks is a previously unreleased live performance of "Kowaka d'Amour" by Robbie Basho. Aside from Fahey, Basho was the most distinctive technician to emerge from the Takoma roster, and this pristine live recording finds him in top form. The dense, Eastern-tinged "Kowaka d'Amour" originally appeared on Basho's 1969 album Venus in Cancer, and here he navigates its intricate melodic corridors with a self-assured grace. Also revelatory are "Devil's Brew", a 1975 home recording by 12-string guitarist Fred Gerlach that blazes forth with an almost punk-like physical intensity, and "New World Coming", a new recording that finds veteran banjo player Billy Faier pushing his instrument to its percussive limits.

Alongside the work of these more established performers, some of the younger artists have to struggle a bit harder to differentiate themselves. Nevertheless, Rose and Blackshaw deliver typically jaw-dropping performances, while Carter contributes the hypnotic "Ascend Mem" with her trademark spirit-channeling minimalism. England's Kraus charts a similarly patient course on her solo banjo work "Looking for the Hermit's Cave", a captivating track that moves with the single-minded persistence of a bloodhound following a scent through the underbrush.

Elsewhere, such as on Peter Lang's circular, overlong "Future Shot at the Rainbow", Imaginational Anthem Vol. 2 moves a little too close to the New Age climates that Fahey spent the latter stages of his career deriding. Tracks from younger guitarists like Jesse Sparhawk and Sweden's JosÈ Gonz·lez are exceedingly lovely, but lack the distinguishing characteristics necessary to immediately identify their authorship. Too much of the action still takes place within boundaries established by Fahey in the 1960s. One can't help but think that many of these voices might eventually be better off working in more collaborative formats, as Rose has with his group Pelt and Carter has with Charalambides. Until, that is, they're able to find as-yet-undiscovered new ways to wring true invention from their acoustic guitars.