Live at Bakehouse

Australian-Iranian singer and instrumentalist Gelareh Pour begins her performance with a breathy introduction on her kamancheh (spike fiddle), before cautiously intoning the lyrics to ‘Anxiety Wars’. Her voice gradually rises in pitch and intensity until it reaches a virtuosic soprano altitude, gliding around a melismatic melody until she is joined by subtle drums and jangly electric guitar. This down-tempo, moody, Persian-rock experiment is off to a good start.

This is a live album, and wonderfully well recorded. There’s a great sense of spaciousness and darkness, which the drones and choice of instrumentation help to create, and the combination of voice, kamancheh and ney (wooden flute) seems to emphasise breath as an essential element. The unavoidable auxiliary sounds such as amp-buzz, rather than marring the album, actually bring it even more to life: a transportive effect most welcome right now. Sung in Persian, Gelareh’s songs shine a light on modern Australia and cross-cultural collaboration. Most of the material is original, but her beautiful cover of Nick Cave’s ‘Into My Arms’ is a welcome addition.