Article Contributed by 23 PR
Published on 2026-03-28
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 all streaming platforms (following it’s March 6 release on LP, CD, and digital download).
Listen to and purchase Extra Stars here.
Uhlmann will be playing Big Ears festival this week, followed by Public Records in Brooklyn and Zebulon in Los Angeles in April, plus other dates. To perform music of Extra Stars, Uhlmann leads a trio with his SML bandmate Booker Stardrum and Will Miller of Resavoir. Info and links for all dates below.
Ahead of shows with his Extra Stars ensemble, Uhlmann releases a live video of the trio performing album track “Days” from a December 2025 show at International Anthem’s Chicago HQ, The Land School.
Watch the live performance video of “Days” 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.
Extra Stars is out now, buy/stream it here.
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
LIVE DATES
3/29 – Big Ears Festival – Knoxville, TN – more info
4/1 – Duke Coffeehouse (solo) – Durham, NC – tickets
4/16 – Zebulon (album release show) – Los Angeles, CA – tickets
4/22 – Public Records (album release show) – Brooklyn, NY – tickets
5/2 – Wicker Park Lutheran Church (solo, w/ Resavoir) – tickets
5/16 – Thing In The Spring – Keene, NH – more info
