At The Emerald Pool is an extremely delicate and wonderful new duo album from guitarists Tomo Katsurada (ex Kikagaku Moyo) and Jonny Nash. It’s certainly atmospheric and light as a feather but it’s not really an ambient record. You’re more likely to dissolve into these songs yourself than they’re likely to fade into the background. It’s mostly a duo guitar album with some cello and vocals from Tomo. Everything about it is beautiful and comfortable, with great chemistry making for a great record.

There was a year or so of Jonny touring with Tomo, performing Tomos solo debut Dream Of The Egg as a group and eventually just as a duo, before they naturally began to perform new improvisations and material as collaborators. It’s mostly gentle finger picking and Tomos’ dreamy whispered vocals, very reminiscent of Jonnys own work and recalling the singular down tempo song that would grace each Kikagaku Moyo album back in the day. The two players are almost indistinguishable save for the occasional distant, fuzzy sustained psychedelic guitar that’s classic Tomo Katsurada.

At The Emerald Pool is a pretty unique work that’s not fully ambient or new age or psychedelic. Funny enough I’m strongly reminded of ambient/psych legends The Emeralds, particularly on tracks like “Scent of Limestone” where repetitive ambient motifs are paired with distant soloing guitar. Roy Montgomery is another obvious comparison. Like Montgomery’s best work, Tomo and Jonny wring a great deal of delicate beauty and emotion out of distorted guitar while keeping the volume low and the mood introspective. The final track is a cover of the Japanese heavy psych classic “Someday We All Fall Down” by Speed, Glue and Shinki. All the sonic heaviness and early metal influence is removed but the emotional weight is fully intact, or even amplified. It’s a really interesting choice of cover that they absolutely knock out of the park. One of those covers where the difference between the original and this version really reveals the essential sound of this project.

This is a truly fantastic record. As a huge Kikagaku Moyo fan this is one that I’ve been anticipating for years before it was even conceived and it captures a lot of what made Tomos work in that group so special. At The Emerald Pool is an amazing record for summer, something about it just soothes the soul. I really can’t get enough and I am greatly looking forward to a wider tour of this material in the coming year. Given the improvisational nature of the duo, a live album would be more than welcome as well. Fans of psychedelic rock or downtempo string music of any kind absolutely must hear this.