CD review։ Strat Andriotis – Exits – 2025: Video, CD cover

There are times when we struggle to embrace an album, and this is one such occasion. Being particularly attuned to sound and style, I must confess that this guitarist’s tone and his overtly rock-infused influences leave me a jaded spectator before this record.

It is a rare thing for us to be unable to listen to an album’s tracks in their entirety, yet here, such was the case with every single piece.

We was struck by the strange sensation of hearing the same motifs repeated from one end to the other, as though trapped in an endless loop. Not everyone is Mike Stern—an evident truth, made all the more glaring in this instance.

Born in Greece, Andriotis emigrated with his family to Hamilton, Ontario, as a child. After years of studying piano and improvising over Cream and Jimi Hendrix records, his life was irrevocably changed the moment he first encountered Miles Davis’s seminal In a Silent Way, which propelled him headlong into the world of jazz.

The only track on this album that earns even a modicum of my favor is While We Wait, and even then, the pleasure is fleeting. Once past the introduction, one is met yet again with that same excessively verbose guitar—shrill, overly electrified, and swiftly grating to the ear.

I resigned myself by the fifth track, unable to endure more than sixty seconds of each piece. It is a rare occurrence indeed that I find an album so devoid of intrigue that it fails even to pique my curiosity to witness its musicians perform live—but such is the case here.

What we have is a strident cacophony of needless verbosity, a guitar that suffocates everything in its path, and a rhythm section that appears deeply disengaged, except when contributing sporadic bursts of noise to the prevailing disarray.

Since the dawn of 2025, we have been privileged to receive albums of truly exceptional caliber and in great abundance. Thus, we cannot in good faith recommend this recording – unless, of course, you are an unflinching devotee of this guitarist.

For us, it shall be but a single star, out of respect for the undeniable strain that recording sessions impose upon musicians.

I’m willing to bet that Strat Andriotis’ first name is actually “Stratos (meaning ‘soldier’) in his native Greek language, but since he plays the Fender Strat, the name fits well, as he sounds like he was born with it in his hands.

Best of all is that he has a nice rich unique sound of his own, and with Tom Altobelli-Joel Banks/b and Vincent Walters-Alex Karcza/dr he delivers an album punches and jabs like Floyd Mayweather.

The strings are thick and tasty on the kinetic “Dominions” and soars over Walters’ simmering sticks on “Replaced”. Most fun are a pair of Monkish tunes that use space as well as sound, with “Will It Ever Be The Same” cleverly quirky and the bluesy “Exits” that has Andriotis mixing spaces between notes with ultra cramped crumplings.

He and Altobelli are fragrant on “Between You and Me” while he gets clever and funky with Banks and Karcza on the back-beating “While We Wait”. No dead ends on this guy’s directions.

I loved the exploration, improvising and interplay between the band members. Trio setting with lots of freedom. Just how I like it,- an interview with us said Strat Andriotis.

We recommend that you definitely purchase this CD, also from here, and enjoy it.

Buy from here – New CD 2025