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AN EMERALD CITY: Circa Scaria

Entirely instrumental in make up, An Emerald City have created a truly unique sound that combines traditional eastern European instruments with their own wild experimentation. Each track on this album is filled with a spirited passion that seems to possess the power to take you away to some other-worldly place. From peaceful and melodic it suddenly becomes ferociously frantic and somewhat unsettling. As well as the eastern sounds of the Persian long-necked lute, tablas and daabuka, there’s loads of rolling drums and percussion, powerful screaming violin, wild, psychedelic guitars and spooky organ sounds throughout. Most tracks follow a similar vein, starting gently then building into a mass of powerful and spirited end, interesting sounds laid upon the familiar towards often climatic crescendos. Final track As the Storm Comes In struck a particular chord with me. The album was mostly recorded live over just two days, inside an isolated beach cave on the west coast of Auckland by Dave Holmes, with a few finishing touches added at the Victoria Theatre in Devonport. It was well worth the extra effort as Holmes has captured a certain atmosphere they wouldn’t have found in the studio. Superb.

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