South Berwick resident David Surette had the house to himself on Feb. 19, and after dinner he sat down in his kitchen with his acoustic guitar and played until midnight. He didn’t know it at the time, but the eight tunes he recorded that night would become the track list to his next CD. 

 

A long-time staple of the Seacoast folk scene, Surette is best known these days for his duo work with wife Susie Burke. But “Sun Dog” shows what Surette is capable of creating on his own, spotlighting his remarkably nimble solo guitar work. 

 

The first track, “A Lot of Sir John,” is a stunning tribute to British guitarist John Renbourn. But a number of other famed pickers can be heard in Surette’s style, including Leo Kottke and John Fahey. Surette pays homage where it’s due, while simultaneously reestablishing his own merit as a uniquely skilled instrumentalist.

 

The next tune, “Ukulele Stomp,” is more upbeat and playful, while the title track returns to a breezy, wistful sound. “Frog’s Legs” brings back an old-timey sense of musical humor, while the next couple of songs are soft and meditative. The closing number, “Rags LeGrand Memorial Two-Step,” is one of the first tunes Surette ever wrote.

 

Like the great acoustic players he emulates, Surette manages to achieve a full, rich sound using only a single six-string guitar. He completed every track on the first or second take with no further tampering, and the resulting 31 minutes of music are thoroughly impressive. Some of the songs are new compositions, while others were written back in the 1980s or ’90s. But all demonstrate his talent and passion on acoustic guitar.  

 

Surette will practice his craft live at the Dolphin Striker in Portsmouth on Sunday, July 18. Visit www.burkesurette.com or www.myspace.com/burkesurette.

One of the few certainties in this topsy-turvy world is that Guy Capecelatro III is out there somewhere writing songs and making music. The prolific, Portsmouth-based singer-songwriter’s latest, “The Silence of our Predicament,” is another collection of lyrical stories colorfully embellished by a host of familiar Seacoast musicians.

 

The album begins in typical heel-dragging fashion with the slow and melodic “Lucky,” which introduces Capecelatro’s evocative voice and storytelling. The mood remains fairly somber until the fourth track, “Recipe,” which sounds almost like a Belle & Sebastian tune with Isis Alis pitching in vocals and piano.  

 

Capecelatro’s lyrics could easily be put to paper and read as short stories or even poems with emotionally stirring content. “We are not this wine / It’s not why we’re entwined / We always end up here / Drinking, drunk in tears,” he sings in “We are not this Wine.”

 

A highlight of the disc is “Fireworks,” in which Capecelatro puts some gusto into his electric guitar work for a rare rock ’n’ roll edge. The CD is mostly composed of slow crawling folk songs, but there is some variety. “Predicament” and “Plant Me” have upbeat, indie-rock guitar riffs and vocals, while “Foxhole” takes a bluesy shade. Zach Tremblay’s quavering vocals compellingly enter the mix in “Redwoods,” but the album quiets again for the closing track, “Same as Ever.” 

 

As always, Capecelatro capitalizes on the help of his many musical friends, with guest appearances from Juliet Nelson, Craig Werth, Seth Gooby, Nat Baldwin, Steve Ruhm, Jon Ekstrom, Mike Samos, Mara Flynn, Jon Nolan and others. The 12-song CD was recorded at Nolan’s Milltown Studio and released by Burst & Bloom, the local label run by Capecelatro and Tiger Saw front man Dylan Metrano. 

 

Visit www.myspace.com/twotonsanta or www.burstandbloomrecords.com. 

Guitarist and electronic maestro Otto Kinzel, a veteran of several area metal bands, originally intended his latest CD to be a solo effort. But the project evolved into a full-blown band also featuring vocalist Michael Hauptly-Pierce and bassist Matt Connarton. The Manchester-based trio’s debut album “The Pain & The Progress,” released by Bluntface Records, is a mishmash of industrial metal, rap and electronica. 

 

After an eerie instrumental opening called “The Pain,” the second track begins with the sound of children screaming and then bursts into a raucous industrial swell with rapid-fire spoken lyrics. The song, called “The Carnival,” is part Nine Inch Nails, part Primus and part My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult, and the remainder of the disc shifts continually between these and other influences.

 

The vocals, often spoken or rapped, have a sort of tongue-in-cheek theatricality that sometimes sounds a bit awkward, like a cross between Glenn Danzig and Fred Schneider.

But the music is generally inventive, with pulsing, stroboscopic rhythms that would serve well at a gothic nightclub. Kinzel maximizes his use of drum machines, synthesizers and programming to keep things interesting throughout all 13 tracks.    

 

“No Real Friend,” like a sonic adrenaline shot, ramps up the speed and injects some growl into the vocals to credible effect. But the music takes a sudden turn with “Red Queen’s Race,” which has a quirky, poppy techno sound. Yet another surprise comes with “The Golden Child,” a jazzy hip-hop song with a heavy metal refrain. Then comes an instrumental piece with hyper drum machine beats and guitar solos.  

 

Some songs work better than others on “The Pain & The Progress,” but Kinzel’s experimental spirit is evident. A self-described musical chameleon, his next project will likely to be dramatically different. 

 

Visit www.chemicaldistance.com or www.myspace.com/ottokinzelmusic.