Bill Orcutt was involved in the making of one of the most unlistenable (and arguably best) noise records of all time as a member of the nonchalantly named project Harry Pussy, has worked extensively with drummer Chris Corsano at the intersection of free jazz and post-rock, created his own music software, and found an entirely new way of playing the guitar as a solo artist who explored the tradition of primitive guitar music through two lenses at once: the avant-garde traditions preceding him and the out-of-the-moment punk spirit that permeates all of his projects. 2022’s album Music for Four Guitars was no different—except that it was: these 14 pieces were thoroughly composed and recorded by Orcutt himself, who shortly thereafter enlisted three different players to perform it live with him.
HausLive 4, released through Chicago’s Hausu Mountain and recorded at the city’s Constellation venue as part of the label-run concert series—and much like its predecessor Four Guitars Live on Orcutt’s own label, recorded at 2023’s Le Guess Who?—features Wendy Eisenberg, Ava Mendoza, and Shane Parish on the bill. The difference is mostly one of recording quality: Four Guitars Live sounds cleaner and more defined, but also a little antiseptic, while HausLive 4 could easily pass as a smartphone recording made from the first row, which lends it a special charm because it occasionally sounds as if Les Rallizés Dénudés are working their way through these Steve Reich-indebted pieces. Even though they are performing mostly pre-composed music, the four guitarists have enough space to add their own flourishes to the pieces—turning this into more than just another live document of one of the best guitar albums in recent history.
