Live at Zion

Over the course of now five albums, 3hattrio have carved out a special niche as sonic interpreters of a particular desert wilderness in the US: Zion Canyon in south-western Utah. The area's peculiar topographical, geological and meteorological characteristics make for an environment of majestic vistas and diverse flora and fauna, which has been inhabited, albeit sparsely, by humans for at least 8,000 years. Inspired by the exotic nature and mysterious lore of the area, 3hattrio create music that sounds simultaneously ethereal, rootsy, spiritually connected and ready to part. Recorded in a pre-Civil War adobe-and-frame meeting house on the edge of Zion National Park, Live at Zion was conceived, according to the band, as a single piece of music.

The opening track, ‘Intro Wind’, begins with a dirge rendered on violin with creepy echo effects before morphing into an up-tempo fiddle-banjo-double bass ballad as leader Hal Cannon's fat intonation evokes fickle wind playing across the landscape of the imagination. ‘Telma & Louise’ charts a jazzy journey infused with AutoTuned scat singing propelled by a solidly swinging bass line. The remaining seven tracks sway between sci-fi soundtrack, square dance hoedown and 21st-century prog-rock anthem. It's a weird, but mostly captivating, mix.