Emeralds - Does It Look Like I'm Here? (Hanson)

There are many layers to the Emeralds' music. On top the most distinct appearance of muisc are the video game noises and '80s synthesizers that sounds straight out of Blade Runner, but underneath all the futuristic noises is a faint very ambient acoustic lines that are very soothing to try and find underneath all the calm chaos above it. Does It Look Like I'm Here?, Emeralds' LP following up 2009's What Happened is a lot more clear and textures in comparison and a step up.

Emeralds are from Clevland, Ohio and have been releasing tons of albums from Hanson Recordings, over thirty to be exact, but most have been on Cassette Tapes, CD-4 and other obscure recording techniques. On their latest album Does It Look Like I'm Here? has their clearest and most textured sound to date with lots of Krautrock influence. The album opens with the very playful "Candy Shoppe" that sounds just like the title, progressive keyboards and ambient synths and obscure acoustic guitar riffs underneath all of it. A very unique sound indeed.

The whole album features this formula and is a very enjoyable experience, especially for progressive electronic fans. Emeralds reminds me a lot of Kraftwerk on this LP, everything sounds like it is from the future and is like watching 2001: A Space Odyssey backwards. It's really relaxing just to lay back and enjoy imagining your floating through space while listening to this album.

The strongest part of the album is the second half which explores more of the underneath layer of acoustic rather than the upper synths. "Goes By" is a very dreamy ambient field of endless space, "Now You See Me" reminds me of going off into the unknown and knowing everything is going to be all right and "Shade" is like an giant computer emitting nonsense at you, but you don't care.

If you're not to big of a fan of heavy synths that can reach some pretty extreme pitches, stay away from Emeralds, but if you're feeling pretty adventurous in wanting to explore the confidentiality of progressive Krautrock influenced music that sounds straight out of the mid '80s go ahead.

Overall: 8.1/10.0 GREAT

Track Listing:

1. Candy Shoppe - 8.0
2. The Cycle of Abuse - 8.5 *
3. Double Helix - 8.0
4. Science Center - 7.5
5. Genetic - 8.0
6. Goes By - 9.0 *
7. Does It Look Like I'm Here? - 7.5
8. Summerdata - 8.0
9. Shade - 8.0
10. It Doesn't Arrive - 8.5
11. Now You See Me - 8.5 *
12. Access Granted - 8.5 *

* - Notable Track

Sample:

"Candy Shoppe"