Where Is Home

Washington, D.C. cellist Janel Leppin and guitarist Anthony Pirog charge out of the gate with "Big Sur," the leadoff track on Janel & Anthony's 2012 album, Where Is Home. Like many pieces on this 13-track disc, "Big Sur" begins in floating ambience thanks to the duo's mastery of electronics and looping. However, it soon takes off with Leppin's plucked ostinato line beneath Pirog's jangly, ringing electric 12-string guitar. Leppin's North Indian and Persian classical music background and Pirog's abilities on both the electric sitar and guitar are fully displayed on this powerful track, with a jagged theme, rhythmic drive, and soloing suggesting a 21st century instrumental version of the Byrds' "Eight Miles High" for the post-post-rock generation. Things calm down after this first four and a half minutes, as remarkably textured and finely detailed electronic ambiences set a mood of contemplative spaciousness beneath tunes considerably more relaxed than the opener. Janel & Anthony