Sit back and flow like water to this sublime alt-blues rock instrumental piece from Light & Shade, ‘This is Water’.

Easily one the best, most compelling instrumental compositions we’ve heard. The track is an expertly composed arrangement of guitars and saxophones with some truly epic dynamic transitions that you’ll never see coming but will rock you to your core.

The track opens with a serene, psychedelic blend of horns and light, airy guitar tones flowing along with ease. Subtly, a layer of emotion-laden guitar progression plays, evoking a range of emotions. You can hear echoes of Pink Floyd, Led Zepplin, Joe Sat and Steve Vai. That’s really just how sublime the guitar work is.

Just like water, the track flows with an effortless grace, tranquil. Then, just when you’ve let your guard down entirely, just after the 3 min mark, it ignites, quite abruptly, into a distortion-heavy riff section that sounds like something out of Porcupine Tree’s soundscape. Suddenly, the soundscape is turbulent and laced with scathing guitar solos and frantic sax play, crescendoing higher and higher before ending on a high note.

Its quite the spell-binding auditory experience. If you reflect on how the track started, where/what it leads into and how it concludes, its simply astounding and leaves you with a deep admiration for this group’s creative vision.

Light & Shade is an eclectic trio of Josh Aguilar on saxes, Jeff Williams on guitars, and Harvey Waldman on drums. What a find!

Stream ‘Light & Shade – This is Water’ on Spotify here:

\