The Emerald Dawn "Nocturne"

Welcome back to The Closet Concert Arena fellow progheads!  Now that we are in full spring mode the search for all things prog is taking on a travel mindset.  This week the journey takes me back to the UK to check in with The Emerald Dawn and their latest release, "Nocturne."  This is album number three for the group, a symphonic prog band that blends classical, jazz, rock, and just a hint of metal to produce something quite unique in their section of the prog garden.

Dropping laser to disc, my first taste of this buffet is a song called "As Darkness Falls."  The headphones are immediately filled with a heavy brooding as the canvas is streaked with dark hues.  The Emerald Dawn is lavish like Dream Theater, eloquent like Gentle Giant, and multi-faceted like The Strawbs.  Their sound washes over you like high tide at a surf competition; knocking you down one minute and lifting you back up the next.  The intensity of the keyboards on this cut is much like stumbling across a bear while out hiking; the immediate adrenaline rush carries you away until things settle a bit and you allow the experience to replay inside your mind.

A haunting piano opens "Moonlight," the second course served up here.  The Emerald Dawn has a way of getting  not just under, but inside your skin and permeating your entire body.  The music begins by waltzing across my mind and slowly running down the inside of my neck, ultimately carrying to every part of my being.  The guitar picks up and rides a wave with the drums...and I am mesmerized.

Liner Notes...although originally formed in Edinburgh,Scotland, The Emerald Dawn has since taken up residence in St. Ives Cornwall in the southwest of England.  The band consists of Tree Stewart on keyboards, flute, acoustic guitar, and vocals; Ally Carter on electric and acoustic guitar, guitar synthesizer, tenor and soprano sax, keyboards, and vocals; David Greenaway on fretless and fretted bass guitar; and Tom Jackson on drums and percussion. 

The Emerald Dawn can be as ornate as ELP but without the flash and fanfare; they simply build a multi-layered sound that needs to be listened to so as to be fully appreciated.  Releasing their debut album in 2014 and a follow up in 2017, The Emerald Dawn is now three albums deep into their journey across the prog garden, one that should prove quite fruitful based on the bounty thus far. Their quest to create symphonic prog takes them across dark and somewhat rough terrain, but the landscape is what gives the music its character and credibility.  Notice the canvas streaked with ambient to dark hues...dripping down like so much mist in the night forest...

Learn more about The Emerald Dawn and purchase their music at The Emerald Dawn.  You can purchase "Nocturne" as well as their two previous albums and find out more about the band.  There is also Facebook for the modern day groupie as well as Twitter @TheEmeraldDawn1.  You will also find the band at bandcamp if you prefer to purchase downloads there.  The options are plentiful and its been awhile since I preached, but please support the artists!

One more slice of dark tranquility, "The Child Within."  This is a stunning work; just sit still and let it wash over you a few times.  The song opens with all the hoopla of a David Lynch movie; anticipation building on intensity.  There are top notes of Genesis and Uriah Heep floating through the room and Tree's vocals are reminiscent of Nico when she recorded with The Velvet Underground.  This is the cut that puts the "progressive" in progressive rock for The Emerald Dawn; there is so much happening on the periphery you almost get swallowed by the enormity of the production...and there's no shame in that.

And here is the point where I usually post a song to tempt you to open your wallet as well as your auditory sensors, but no ear candy this week.  You'll have to buy the album to get the music and you really should.  The Emerald Dawn has put together a beautiful record; "Nocturne" is a stroll through the symphonic section of the prog garden and the imagery is striking.

This album takes me back to when progressive rock was filled with "those bands," groups that paid attention with their hearts and souls; writing, performing, and producing music they believed in and letting the listener decide.  So many musicians today seem like they signed up for a job--not these folks.  The Emerald Dawn is in it for the long haul which is perfectly fine by me...The Closet Concert Arena always has time (and space) for another stellar performance!

Of course that can only mean one thing; time to take the search for all things prog back on the road...until next time...