Mortal Prophets' John Beckmann unveils a haunted cartography on new album 'GUITARWORKS II'

On 'GUITARWORKS II', John Beckmann (the creative force behind The Mortal Prophets) reshapes the guitar into something more spectral than melodic, crafting a series of sketches that feel unearthed rather than composed. Sixteen fleeting pieces make up the record, each one flickering in and out of focus like a memory you can’t quite hold onto. There are no words, no overt guideposts; just tone, texture, and the delicate erosion of sound.

What gives this collection its gravity is its restraint. Beckmann leaves the edges frayed, letting static and imperfection seep through to every composition. The result is a body of work that feels fragile, almost archaeological, as if the guitar lines were relics pressed into wax long ago. On tracks like 'Serpent Mound', melody is reduced to whispers and arcs, carrying an uncanny resonance that lingers long after the final note fades.

Rather than filling the air, these songs carve out space. They’re intimate, but also unsettled as they balance reverence with unease or familiarity with estrangement. At times, the record suggests the influence of ambient minimalists, but the artist's approach is more excavation than imitation. He digs at the guitar until it reveals something raw, something that feels older than the instrument itself.

'GUITARWORKS II' is best heard at the edges of day, when silence itself starts to hum. It’s music that doesn’t so much tell stories as it does expose the faint outlines of forgotten ones. Beckmann has given us a collection that drifts like smoke and settles like dust, offering a quiet guide through the in-between.