guitarist Gregory Uhlmann releases debut solo album for International Anthem
TRACKLIST
Pocket Snail
View Above
Lucia (feat. Alabaster DePlume)
Like Tea
Days
Worms Eye
Burnt Toast
Dottie
Bristlecone
Voice Exchange
View Below
Back Scratch
Imprint
Sugar Water
CREDITS
Gregory Uhlmann – guitar, bass, synths, recorder, percussion, piano
Alabaster DePlume – saxophone and voice on Lucia
Anna Butterss – bass on Bristlecone
Josh Johnson – saxophone and effects on Bristlecone
Jeremiah Chiu – synth and modular on Voice Exchange
Booker Stardrum – percussion on Back Scratch
Voice sample on Voice Exchange is Tasha Viets-Vanlear
All pieces composed by Gregory Uhlmann
Produced by Gregory Uhlmann
Additional Production by Jeremiah Chiu on Worms Eye, Voice Exchange, and View Below
Mixed by Dave Vettraino
Mastered by David Allen
Album art and layout by Bucky Boudreau
Special thank you to my partner Sam Kaufman for feedback on every little detail
Extra Stars is out now on LP, CD, and digital download, purchase it here.
Today, Gregory Uhlmann — who is known for his work with SML, Perfume Genius, Hand Habits, and many more, and was featured in Paste Magazine’s recent ’75 Greatest Guitarists of the 21st Century’ piece — releases Extra Stars, his debut solo album for International Anthem, on LP, CD, and digital download (available on streaming platforms March 24). Uhlmann also shares the third streaming single “Back Scratch,” a collage-cut from a series of piano improvisations and post-composed with pitch-shifted percussion contributions from Uhlmann’s SML bandmate Booker Stardrum.
Listen to “Back Scratch” and purchase Extra Stars here.
Also today is a virtual Bandcamp listening party for Extra Stars at 1pm EST, find more info and RSVP here.
Comprising fourteen miniature infinities of inventive guitar textures, bewitching harmonic depth, and metamorphic rhythmic flickers, Extra Stars is a vividly escapist, panoramic menagerie of sound — yet another distinctive entry from an artist who has quickly established himself as an essential presence in some of the most progressive instrumental recordings of our time.
Following a long run of supporting work with artists like Perfume Genius, Tasha, and Hand Habits, alongside an eponymous recorded output largely focused on his more singer-songwriter oriented music, Uhlmann has spent the better part of the last couple years trotting out album after album of groundbreaking instrumental modern music: the sparse melodies and hushed ambient soundscapes of Small Day; his much-lauded duo outing Doubles with Meg Duffy; his perhaps lesser-known but no-less-brilliant duo record Water Map with Dustin Wong; the lush chamber-jazz interplay of his trio recording with saxophonist Josh Johnson and bassist Sam Wilkes; and the two genre-breaking albums he released as a co-leader of synth-laced trance-jazz quintet SML (2024’s Small Medium Large and 2025’s How You Been).
Extra Stars encompasses all he’s learned through all the above. For a record that seldom incorporates percussion instruments, the music is distinctly rhythm-forward, while Uhlmann also leans heavily into swaths of pastoral beauty. Extra care was clearly poured into the kind of harmonic depth that’s often missing from vibe-only “ambient” music, making for a delightfully refreshing take on the electronic, processing-heavy quiet sound.
The compositions and production techniques here reflect Uhlmann’s musicality perfectly, surely the result of him being as much a seasoned practitioner as he is an avid listener. If there is a middle ground between Cluster & Eno, Terry Riley’s Shri Camel, and Yo La Tengo’s There’s a Riot Going On, it’s somewhere nearby. Lofty comparisons aside, Extra Stars seems to look beyond reference or imitation. Even the album’s title indicates as much — inspired by a trip to California’s Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, where the reality of the night sky’s starry expanse stretches beyond the boundaries of belief.
Uhlmann will be playing live performances in Brooklyn and Los Angeles this April, more info and links for all dates below. He also recently shared a live performance video of “Burnt Toast,” watch here.
LIVE DATES
3/6 – Bandcamp Listening Party – virtual – RSVP
4/16 – Zebulon (album release show) – Los Angeles, CA – tickets
4/22 – Public Records (album release show) – Brooklyn, NY – tickets
5/16 – Thing In The Spring – Keene, NH – more info
ABOUT GREGORY UHLMANN
Gregory Uhlmann is a guitarist, composer, and producer from Chicago living in Los Angeles. His musical palette embraces beautiful warble-y sounds, low fuzzy vibrations, and playful rhythms that overlap in surprising ways. His often-otherworldly guitar tones and syncopated picking style are immediately recognizable across a vast array of musical collaborations, and that distinction while maintaining a shapeshifting flexibility is no small feat.
Uhlmann’s early work as co-leader of LA indie experimental outfit Fell Runner established his presence on the west coast scene after relocating from Chicago, and his resume since includes stints as a regular recording/touring member of Perfume Genius, Hand Habits, and Anna Butterss’s backing band. Whether he’s contributing to the LA trance-jazz improvisation of SML, the progressive electro-acoustic chamber music of his trio with Josh Johnson and Sam Wilkes, or in the hushed melancholic rhythm machine of Duffy x Uhlmann (his duo with Meg Duffy of Hand Habits), it’s clear that Uhlmann is a lead asset in every collaboration.
His work as a solo artist ranges from cleverly arranged chamber-folk songwriting to beautifully abstract experimental jazz-informed instrumental compositions, and his latest album, Extra Stars, explores that latter territory to a deeper degree than ever before. This new work, his solo debut for International Anthem, pulls Uhlmann even further into the spotlight while showcasing his knack for directing the talent of his community of collaborators, establishing him as one of the most exciting emergent artists in modern music.