For a brief while Gelareh Pour's Garden Quartet blazed brightly, and were sadly no longer when vocalist Armin left to pursue other interests. His leaving was sudden and on the cusp of a promising national tour that was cut short from the COVID-19 pandemic sweeping through our world. Nevertheless, this album is a valuable recording of this incarnation of an ensemble which showcases Gelareh and co's innovative hybrid between post-rockesque motifs and Persian traditional music.
I have said so before, Gelareh's vocal style has a western operatic quality to it, sometimes reminding me of the great Australian singer Jeannie Lewis. She is able to project her voice with great power and with her familiarity and training in Iranian traditional music, it creates a unique melding. When combined with the vocals of Armin's more straightforward Persian classically trained singing, the results are truly mesmerising. I'd suggest you listen to I Am An Ocean, Parisa's Secret and Anxiety Wars as exemplars of this.
A particular favourite, Anxiety Wars unfolds from a melancholy reflection intoned by Armin accompanied by the trilling of his Santour. Paul and Brian combine in a slowly unfolding groove ascending to a beautifully restrained peak and taking flight with the entry of Gelareh's yearning vocalese.
If you are familiar with Gelareh's music, Moonlove Gilava has been a favourite live song throughout her journey. Describing a dream, it is a stately song - like a slowly meandering river unwinding towards the ocean. Brian O'Dwyer's drumming really shines on this song, he has such a deft sense of colour within all of the ensembles he plays in, and here too he shines.
This is a great moment in Gelarehs' continuing artistic journey, along with all the other members of this ensemble. Between them, there's a lot to look forward to.
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