My love of guitar instrumental albums is well known amongst the staff at HRH and whenever a guitar based album lands the reviews editor is always quick to get in touch. This has led me to discover some outstanding players that otherwise I might have missed out on hearing. One such player is Victor Lafuente. A lot of people reading this may think they are well informed about “cool” guitar players and, yet, may not have come across Victor. My advice would be to check him out as soon as possible as, in a word, his playing and composing is “superb” or rather, bearing in mind that he's French maybe I should describe it as “magnifique”.

“Six Strings For One Heart” is the debut album from Victor and features twelve wonderful tracks covering many styles, moods and techniques. Variety is very much the spice of life on this album. Opening track “Delirium Tremens” gets things off to a great start, best described as warm and very friendly, gorgeous melodies twist and turn over a mildly funky backing. The track is arranged to take the listener on quite a journey as he picks and taps his way through very original and musically lyrical territory. Next up “For One Heart” is an exceptional effort that demonstrates in one fell swoop that, in trained hands, melodic guitar playing can really move the spirit. There are moments here of delicate beauty and intriguing accompaniment from electric and acoustic playing. “Mister Groove” is aptly titled  gently slithering along with great laid back and groovy playing.

“Seize Seasons” is truly exquisite, played on acoustic with only a little bit of keyboard as accompaniment. The beauty of the song knocked me sideways every time I have listened to it and, believe me, that’s quite a few times. It manages to sound composed and yet also sounds like it is being written as you listen to it, four minutes of music that this reviewer didn’t want to end. “Six Strings” is short but very sweet with Victor demonstrating his control and agility when it comes to arpeggios. “Perfect Day” again knocked me for six thanks to the mix of melodic beauty and daring rock guitar. I am a huge fan of the much missed Shawn Lane and this track brought to mind some of his playing in the way that Victor mixes vocals with guitar melodies. There is also a very Shawn Lane moment towards the end of this track that brings to mind “Grey Pianos Flying” from the incredible “Powers Of Ten”. With all of that in mind it came as no surprise that next was a song entitled “Hommage (to Shawn Lane)”. Once again melodic and heartfelt there is a tangible sense of loss within the note choice. Victor like many of us obviously misses the music of Lane and with this track it’s safe to say he has created a warm and tender piece of music that Shawn would appreciate.

“Bailadora” like “Seize Seasons” is an acoustic led piece on which Victor once more manages to sound like he is playing composed music but in a manner that feels like it is improvised, another beautiful piece full of emotive playing of the highest order. “Positive Influence” on the other hand is a track that moves along with an inbuilt sense of happiness. It’s hard to describe but there is a real joy and sense of fun in the playing here. “Aquatic Visions” is yet another very melodic piece and once more there is a playful sense of fun to Victor's soloing. Penultimate number “Tutti Frutti” sees Victor rocking out as well as introducing a touch of samba and reggae like rhythms. There are some very Steve Vai like moments thanks to some wild string bends but there is also some creative slide playing which you don’t hear from Mr. Vai. For those who like to hear insane tapping this track has plenty of that as well. The final track on the album is entitled “Serial Thanks” which sadly, due to my inability to speak French, had me scratching my head as to what exactly the vocals are about. The track is more keyboard based with some super jazzy playing that brought to mind Greg Phillinganes. The guitar does eventually appear however accompaning the keyboard with some tasty jazz inspired licks.

When this album came to an end I can safely say my spirit felt a little bit more alive than it had done before I started to listen. Victor is a player blessed with a tangible sense of adventure in his playing which makes his music come across as optimistic and full of hope to anyone who is prepared to let it get under their skin. If you love melodic guitar playing and like to hear guitarists trying to do something new and approach things in a noticeably different way then Victor Lafuente deserves your attention.

Let us know your views on Six Strings For One Heart

Track Listing

Délirium Tremens
For One Heart
Mister Groove
Seize Saisons
Six Strings
Perfect Day
Hommage (to Shawn Lane)
Bailadora
Positivinfluence
Aquatic Visions
Tutti Frutti
Serial Thanks