This self-titled album (not to be confused with their eponymous tape on Hanson from 2007) sees the Ohio trio further refine their cosmic sounds. A huge leap forward from their already impressive releases like Solar Bridge and What Happened, this LP confirms my belief that these guys are creating some of the most important music being made today. There are several moments during this LP that make the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, proving that Emeralds are tapping into something here that is truly extraordinary.
There is a danger that Emeralds could just be a formulaic synthesiser band retreading old ground but despite the superficial similarities between their releases, there is something special going on within the music. The three pieces on the first side of this LP leave behind any notion of them being the “bullshit boring drone band” of their debut release; there is way more going on here than the slow soundscapes of earlier releases. “Geode” brings Mark McGuire’s guitar to the front and together the group sounds like something Harmonia would have done if they had started making music for the first time today (but I must point out that this is not simple Krautrock worship). “Diotima” on the other hand takes elements of '90s ambient electronica and experimental rock to create a glacial kaleidoscope of sounds, again McGuire’s precise but irregular guitar arpeggios dancing across the music.
Side B features one long track, “Passing Away,” which distils everything that is great about Emeralds into one dazzling synthesiser jam. John Elliott and Steve Hauschildt’s interlocking synth patterns build up a body of sound which shifts and rearranges itself like a desert in a windstorm. Mark McGuire’s subtle guitar hides amongst the electronic tones, a rare bird occasionally peeking through the mix. The piece dissolves into field recordings of running water and a Buddhist funeral ceremony care of Aaron Dilloway. This juxtaposition of the electronic composition with Dilloway’s documentations of the natural and the divine highlight the ritualistic, psychedelic and organic underpinnings of Emeralds’ music.
Solar Bridge was my album of the year last year but this album puts that one to shame, which is a very bold statement in my book. This is certainly the most impressive thing Emeralds have done yet and given their constant upward trajectory over the last few years, I'm eager to see what the next year brings us.
This release is currently vinyl only so unfortunately no sound samples at this point in time, apologies!
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