But, of course, a guitar hasn't necessarily been a guitar at least since the mid-'60s, when Keith Rowe laid it down flat on a table and began dealing with it more as a sound-generating object than a guitar as such. In their second release as a duo, guitarists Taku Sugimoto and Annette Krebs, each with a unique approach toward their instrument, continue on and branch out from the path first explored on their Slub release from 2000. Sugimoto's instrument is in relatively standard form, and the sounds evoked are, though rather unusual, decidedly guitar-like. Though still maintaining his spartan conception, he's a bit busier here than on most of his prior recordings, loosing the occasional flurry of notes along with the more customary individually and carefully placed ones. Krebs operates more out of the Rowe-ian tradition, rubbing, tapping, and otherwise "abusing" the electronic stringed object in front of her with little regard to its history, classical or rock, but with great attention to detail and with ears wide open to her partner. There's also a greater concern with rich, deep tone, Sugimoto's floating down through the sonic space, Krebs' flitting around them in worried fashion, agitatedly fluttering as though cushioning their fall. The three longish pieces are all free improvisations, and each demonstrates a masterful control over the scale, sounding neither rushed nor overdrawn; they tell their story, and then they stop. The guitar may have long since ceased being only a guitar, but in the hands of these two fine musicians, it's clear that its potential was just beginning to be explored.