Emeralds-Classic or Dud?

A coworker of mine passed "What Happened" to me... it's really excellent. I keep reading about people seeing these guys play in basements & backyards. I'm hoping I can hear that for myself.

finally heard "alive in the sea of information". see people hear "drone" and think "boring" when they should be thinking "heavenly buzzsaw that opens the thousand gates of perception."

I know there has been a bit of discussion in the rolling drone thread, but I thought I'd hit this thread because their new album, Does It Look Like I'm Here? is playing tonight through the hd 280s. Solid album. The longer track, "Genetic" is so good. I ate the best turkey sandwich from Whole Foods tonight too.

Kinda confused that they broke out of the tons of bands that sound exactly like them to become the most popular.

yeah i mean that never happens. ever.

please tell me about more contemporary bands that use analog synths like these dudes

xp

completely forgot that i have a copy of the pain jerk/emeralds tour cd. i should play it. don't think i ever did. anyway, like i said on the other thread, the new one has really grown on me. the mego thing. also on my mego hit parade and simliar in some ways to the emeralds stuff is the new album by ONEOHTRIX POINT NEVER. one guy. never heard him before. starts out as straight up noise and then goes into ambient/mellow territory. i like it a lot. Daniel Lopatin. that's the guy with the unwieldy name.

please tell me about more contemporary bands that use analog synths like these dudes

Zombi

who totally rule btw

Kinda confused that they broke out of the tons of bands that sound exactly like them to become the most popular.

I get where you're coming from but... their music really is v. approachable. esp that new mego disc. a handful of well-recorded, melodic, short, new age-y pop ambient songs. not that surprising that people are digging them more than most acts working a harder "drone" or "noise" angle. (admittedly zombie are neither of those things.)

It's not just approachable -- I think Emeralds' music really has its very own sound. They may share techniques and inspirations with artists like Oneohtrix Point Never, Jonas Reinhardt, et al, but their music has a very specific quality that I don't get from anyone else. I wish I could put my finger on it; it has to do with the loops upon loops upon loops, the sense of many different parts, all spinning at different velocities.

Oh yes please this is total KateBait.

And hey, I love me some Zombi but this is a different kind of headspace, less proggy more ambient drifty.

I ordered the new one. Dont suppose anyone has the s/t vinyl they could sell to me?

There's a wibbly wubbly warped tapeloopness to this that reminds me of Cluster. The sounds are slippy slidey as well as shimmery.

I've always felt they remind me of Force Majuere era TD

Which is my fave TD

A bit, yes. I can see that. But I'm not sure that they have that kind of streamlined smoothness that TD have.

OK, I've just reached Genetic which is straight up TD territory with those big Minimalist Composer arpeggiators in the background and I'm in heaven.

Genetic is awesome but just wait til the title track hits you in 2 tracks time

I'm going to be a slathering mess by that point if this album keeps up delivering the goodness like this...

This album just came out on emusic this week, fyi, for anyone who uses that site. I'm anxiously waiting for my June dls to come in.

you all should check out Skyramps as well, if you haven't already. iirc it's McGuire and the Oneohtrix Point Never guy.

yeah that Skyramps record is awesome. I picked that up because I liked Oneohtrix "Rifts" and now I feel like I need to dig into the Emeralds stuff too ...

FWIW, I totally recommend buying the vinyl version of the Mego release. I listened to 320s of the album for a week or more, and felt like I really had a handle on the record. But when my mail-ordered wax finally came, it sounded almost like a different record. Ok, I'm exaggerating. But the space of it blew wide open.

yeah this is a band that is best heard in full fidelity.

I had the exact same experience with Solar Bridge, loved my mp3's but once I got the CD reissue it was like DAMN

Agreed about Skyramps being really awesome.

Btw, there is an emeralds thread that this discussion should be in and not this horseshit thread.

― Bilderbooger (van smack), Wednesday, June 9, 2010 10:12 AM (32 seconds ago)

Thumbs up

this is some of the most gorgeous music that i have heard in a long time. really loving the new album

yeah, it's top notch.

I love how they condensed their sound into mini epics. first track is like a statement of purpose.

I'm still down for the side-length stuff as well, obv.

this new one is Harald Grosskopf's album Synthesist minus the drums.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ggdnTzSVD3E/RxO-gBnNOHI/AAAAAAAAACY/JBrYw8NSVDE/s320/synthesist.jpg

too much harmonic consonance in this record. needs more dissonance

Great band

Great post

Thanks, ilxor

I thought these guys would break out last year on the strength of What Happened? and the opening slots for TG, but I guess the big ol' Mego 2xLP has them really hitting the big time. More power to them. FWIW, every side project/solo project involving these guys I've heard has been of merit (to varying degrees). John Elliot seems to be the most prolific (check out Mist, Outer Space, and the epic Infinity Window material) but Mark Mcguire's stuff is mind-boggling good (2xLP re-ish of the pieces "Tidings" and "Amethyst Waves" on Weird Forest is epic and the "Off In The Distance" cassette was just re-released on a tasty LP). The full Emeralds complement is heading out on a fairly extensive North American tour opening for Caribou in late Sept/early Oct.

yeah I saw that. Would be interested to see them live but am not a fan of Caribou =/

i cant stop listening to Now You See Me from the new one

such a great album

It is a great album, isn't it?

am not a fan of Caribou =/

This is unfortunate, you are missing out on awesomeness.

check out Mist, Outer Space, and the epic Infinity Window material)

Total nu-synth brain fart here. Infinity Window is Daniel Lopatin's (now defunct?) synth duo group (their sole extant LP on Arbor is great BTW...), the epic John Elliot solo project is called Imaginary Softwoods.

yeah I saw that. Would be interested to see them live but am not a fan of Caribou =/

id say its worth getting a ticket just to see them and ducking out for caribou. saw them in june and it was a rad show - short set but p transcendent

Maybe!

I have a real soft spot for bands from Ohio. It truly is one of the USA's greatest music states.

amen! (i am from ohio)

Every time I see an album by these guys I can't help but think of these other guys: http://www.theemeralds.net/

http://pitchfork.com/forkcast/14796-clouds-rolling-in/

last album was dope, but really doesn't hold any re-listening value for me

This new Outer Space LP from John Elliott of Emeralds is a good one, especially "Scanlon": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmEFlQYlSs8

Ossining's I Will Be Missed record is tops too.

I'm in the process of ripping three Outer Space cassettes.

Also, I've heard the new McGuire lp, and it's not a big departure blah blah blah... but still a good listen nonetheless.

New Mark McGuire LP is great, sounds much less synth-y than the Emeralds LP. Gonna be listening to this a lot I think.

"Just To Feel Anything" didn't grab me at all but still

Just to Feel Anything made my top ten that year. Here's hoping there's a tour. Mark McGuire's solo albums on Editions Mego and Dead Oceans have all been pretty good listens.

I really liked the Outer Space album and a couple of those Mist records, as far as solo projects go

I liked Steve Hauschildt's run of solo albums from about 2009 to 2018 too, realized I missed one in 2019.

Hoping this leads to more shows and maybe some new studio material.

yes those are good too, I forgot abt them!

Remastered version of Does It Look Like I'm Here? out today with 7 bonus tracks

Listening to the bonus tracks. Goodly stuff. The long version of Genetic is quite a thing.

whoa 28 minutes!!

It *goes*.

I was intrigued by the Pitchfork review of the re-release. I liked the piece just found the idea that the band wanted to 'determined to melt behind their instruments' kinda funny. My signature memory of seeing them live was of John Elliott punching the air and roaring with glee from behind his keyboards.

*were determined to melt...

I saw them open for Throbbing Gristle in Chicago, 2009, but I don't remember much other than "surprisingly good", I had not heard the records at the time but started picking them up afterwards, "What Happened" was my gateway

*Allegory of Allergies* was the first thing I heard, which I think I yoinked from what.cd (RIP). I saw them live at an ATP event and thought they were great.

Allegory is prob still my favorite, there is a newer Bandcamp version that restores most of the cassette material missing from the 2LP, but (frustratingly) not quite all of it

Oh! Didn't know about that - will have to go and investigate.

extended versions! so good

it was originally a 120-minute tape

I think I have the whole thing buried on a hard drive somewhere but will go the Bandcamp route for sure.

Read somewhere that they are prepping a reunion, which !!!

ooh!!

excellent

with Yellow Swans and Emeralds reuniting, next thing you know NNCK and Tan As Fuck will be touring by end of next year.

(an aging noiser can hope)

If those four toured as a unit, OMFG

Okay wtf just found out Solar Bridge is improvised with no dubs or edits??????