"My name's Gwenifer Raymond. I mostly just play guitar." There's an understated charm about the Welsh guitarist's limited banter behind the Desk, but little prepares you for what howls from her instrument. Raymond's fingerstyle guitar drones with a haunted quality, but her flurry of bends, slides and chord clusters rip open the firmament.
Steeped in pre-war blues, but picking up on the acoustic innovations of John Fahey and Jack Rose, Raymond started releasing records a little less than a decade ago. But it's on Last Night I Heard the Dog Star Bark, one of NPR Music's best albums of 2025, where the Cardiff-born and now Brighton-based guitarist forged an unmistakably distinct sound: a controlled recklessness that conjures spells with six strings. Exhilarating, but also terrifying.
