Tashi Dorji and Efrim Menuck are no strangers. Their paths crossing on the former’s second Drag City release, we will be wherever the fires are lit, in 2004, while Menuck gatecrashed Dorji’s renegade project with drummer Thom Nguyen, MANAS, a year earlier for the improv’ release, At House Unamerican.
It was more of a case of when than if that Dorji and Menuck would join forces as a duo, and as BLOOM AND RUIN they do just that. On Two Liberations, it solidifies their alliance as something that will no doubt continue for years to come. In many ways, the Asheville, North Carolina-based guitarist has been the exponent of the knotty compositions that may inspire Menuck to travel to similar places in a solo capacity in the future.
For now though, on Two Liberations, Dorji doesn’t just give his latest collaborator a nudge in that direction, he pulls him into the deepest parts of his sound world, where the pair orchestrate two long-form compositions that transfer the world’s tension to tape.
Alongside Bill Orcutt, Dorji has been one of the most prominent voices in experimental guitar this decade. 2026 in particular has been the Bhutanese-born artist’s most fruitful. His solo LP, low clouds hang, this land is on fire, one of the year’s most memorable releases so far, and while Dorji thrives in a solo capacity, he’s been just as comfortable in collaboration. His 3 guitars release with Terrie Ex and Andy Moor, following countless others over the decade, which have included works alongside Orcutt, Josh McPhee, Elliott Sharp, Sally Gates, and many more.
BLOOM AND RUIN - TWO LIBERATIONSMenuck’s politics-through-sound mantra is just as influential to these recordings as Dorji style rubbing off on his collaborator. Together, they combat these times with their own hell-raising. On the opener, OPPOSITIONAL GREENERY, an ear-splitting noise builds into a droning crescendo of tangled guitars and thick walls of feedback. It’s like a metallic cloud filled with lightning bolts. The piece, culminating with the kind of calm envisioned on the other side of a storm.
DARK WET SOIL LIBERATED FROM HUMAN, PESTICIDE AND BOMB possesses that same fraught danger, although contrasting in approach. An improvisation seemingly assembled on the factory floor, Dorji and Menuck expose an elemental trance-like form of post-rock. And through brooding textures and a storm of static, suddenly, the path to peace emerges. It’s something Menuck has always advocated through his endeavours as leader of Godspeed! You Black Emperor. Dorji also hit similar frequencies on low clouds hang, this land is on fire. Together they skirt along the frontiers of hope.
Through the maelstrom as BLOOM AND RUIN, Dorji and Menuck explore the tension that juxtaposes chaos and hope. Can one exist without the other? If it wasn’t for the chaos darkening this world, then what would we hope for exactly? Would it be needed, because if it weren’t for chaos then there might just be peace. It’s what Dorji and Menuck aim to expose on Two Liberations.
Two Liberations is out now via The Garrote. Purchase from Bandcamp.
