"...And seriously: How the fuck is he doing that?" -Andy Cush

"Another step in the evolution of Pireh's approach to shredding as mindset as opposed to a technical practice. Beautiful and transcendent as always."

"Released on Bill Orcutt's Palilalia Records label, the Oak Park, Michigan, guitarist takes his country chops on a wild and fuzzy ride. It must be said off the bat that this reviewer is no connoisseur of guitarists who shred. There are, of course, the obvious deterrents: the preening heavy metal cliches for one. But shredding is not confined to this genre, one only had to witness the ultra talented James Sedwards (of Nøught/Thurston Moore’s band) play to a roomful of dropped jaws, to see and feel what it can be like. Pireh has created a fascinating album, one that feels like bluegrass played in loops, like developing thought channeled through experimentation. I was, too, interested to listen to an album that talks about distortion and shredding as a higher state of consciousness, liberation, unifying people in times of polarisation, and questioning an industry placing artists in silos that are hard to break out of. To Pireh, it’s seemingly all about love, love for artistry, for the unison of human and spiritual, of musicality and most importantly connection with others. And this album has many surprises to the somewhat untuned ear. ‘We Can’t All Be Alive At The Same Time’ feels like an object of one’s desire tantalisingly and fleetingly just out of reach but pulling at you like the Pied Piper. The track is pattern rich, almost pastoral and trippy, and has unexpected shifts and turns, like watching contents of a Petrie dish under a microscope, or like peering from the balcony of a busy airport where people seem to swim past and through each other through dust rich summer air. On ‘Free Palestine’ I am reminded in some small way of the sublime qualities of Vini Reilly’s Durutti Column. And through the fuzz of hazy distortion you find yourself submerged and leaning in closer as the track swells, a feeling of slivers of hope. The title track ‘Thank You, Guitar’ is loop after loop of incredibly fast, seriously complex playing that feels like I should be paging Wes Anderson to come contract his next in-house composer. In my mind’s eye I see deserts, streams and hyperreal coloured halo’s looming into view. It feels like a journey song – and a love song – to taking the undulating side roads and what they bring forth. Interestingly, Pireh reports that the title track ‘Thank You, Guitar’ was first conceived in part in 2014 and he had battled with it since for ten years, whittling away, losing aspects, testing himself, both picking and using his fingers until one day, after much perseverance it all fell into place, and the track lay cajoled, melded and responding like clay under one’s fingertips after many wonkily thrown pots. This track is a great tribute to his determination until what persistently slips through the water suddenly yields, belly up. In many ways Thank You, Guitar is an act of belief, of devotion, and a testament to Pireh’s vision and grit. A message, perhaps, about flux and transformation. Like holding each other’s arms walking through a thick sea fret, stopping to realise the distorting haze is to be as cherished as the complex landscape it temporarily envelopes." -Kirsteen McNish

"On his fourth album of what he describes as "transcendental shred electric guitar music", musician and composer Cyrus Pireh continues to do what he does best: Craft unique, oddly melodic, cathartic music using the raw power of the electric guitar and little else." -Chris Ingalls

"On the fittingly titled Thank You, Guitar, Cyrus’ panoramic sonic vistas, chock full of dizzying loops, mangled effects, fingerpicking beauty and dissonant honks and blown-out skronk, will cause both jaws to drop in awe and ears and minds to spontaneously combust. Pireh not only knows his way around the fretboard but his titles are his bag too, too. He named his 2022 record Still Here, Still Ripping (he certainty is) and one of the pieces on this newest slab is titled “Infinite Shred.” There might not be a more apt descriptor when it comes to Thank You, Guitar than that." – Brad Cohan

"The true mind bender of the record is "Amen Family", its fret-tapping and string scraping reinventing the venerable amen break as an electrified freak-folk/jungle opus for fingerstyle guitar that has to be heard to be believed. Ultimately, Thank You Guitar is a giant step forward in Palilalia's redefinition of the solo guitar record, and one of the first truly novel things I've heard a guitar spit out in quite some time"

"Extremely stoked to see that Bill Orcutt is releasing a new Cyrus Pireh record on his Palilalia label. I discovered Pireh’s "transcendental shred electric guitar music" via his 2022 LP VISITOR. The music contained on that album was so unlike all other guitar music I’d ever heard and I sort of believed it was a once-in-a-lifetime feat that couldn’t be repeated. Thankfully Pireh returns with more extraordinary explorations for speed, strings and distortion on a label operated by someone who knows a thing or two about expanding the guitar’s vocabulary."

"Finally the lead track from Cyrus Pireh's Visitor is the best bit of solo guitar-ing anyone has released in the last 40 years and the fact that apparently only I know this is proof we do not live in a rational universe."

"Described as 'transcendental shred,' Pireh's solo guitar is above all emotional - the opening track in particular is a blast of pure, twitchy joy."

"Can't remember the last piece of (non-live) music I've listened to as compulsively (multiple times a day) as this. Astounding not only in its technicality and mystery but in a simple melodic sense, too. Perfect music this."

"It takes something special to make such a unique solo guitar record in 2022, but Cyrus Pireh keeps things close and quiet on Still Here, Still Ripping and does just that (with an assist from Will Hicks). Across four songs, Pireh is on a journey to explore the possibilities of electric guitar and make connections, real and imagined, along the path. The 12-minute Message of Universal Solidarity simmers for days, Pireh's fingerpicking popping bubbles that come back stronger each time. Hicks lights the torch in the last three minutes, his synth and drums giving a platform to lift off. Elsewhere, Pireh looks inward through disrupted resonance and finds beauty in the smallest moments, appreciations after nearly dying that sing a little louder and glow a little brighter, inviting all the moths around to bathe in this cosmic light."

"Cyrus Pireh used to swing his axe around the Twin Cities, so we were sure to scoop up the new cassette on Astral Editions the very moment it manifested. The title track "Still Here, Still Ripping" is a brief but crystal window into the workman's woodshed, covering more ground in three minutes than some careers touch full sprawl. A clawfoot jackhammer, well strapped on. With this new album, Pireh has offered an inspired vision of obtuse angles, filmed in widescreen acous-matic splat mode. Ripping indeed, thank you sir!"