Scree - Jasmine On a Night in July (Ruination)

Led by guitarist Ryan El-Solh, Brooklyn trio Scree combines ambient jazz, Lebanese folk music, and atmospheric psychedelia into music for walking lonely nights through a desert landscape, either American or Middle Eastern, at twilight, and preferably after ingesting magic mushrooms. Joined by bassist Carmen Q. Rothwell and drummer Jason Burger, El-Solh puts melody first on first full-length Jasmine On a Night in July – he rarely shows off his considerable six-string skills, simply letting his tunes speak for themselves. He’s aided in this by delightfully smoky production and the efforts of his bandmates, with Burger keeping subtle time (with occasional frenzied bursts), and Rothwell as apt to solo on her double bass as El-Solh is on his axe. Listen to the languorous opener “Victory Signs” for a smart introduction to Scree’s world, then proceed to the title track, which answers the question: what if Burt Bacharach was born in Beirut? The perfect marriage of melody and concept comes from “Questions for the Moon,” a gorgeous tone poem that plants all of Scree’s seeds in one fertile patch of Earth, coming up lush and green. There are few acts making the kind of music Scree does, but Jasmine On a Night in July still contains sounds few folks wouldn’t dig.