Justin Symbol's "Emerald City"

Well, then. So Justin Symbol is working on his debut solo album and from what he's released so far, I'm damn excited to hear the whole thing.

The video for his song "Emerald City" was directed by Jazeel Gayle, an obviously talented dude. I'm sure this thing was shot in maybe one or two locations and on a minimal budget, but that doesn't stop it from having a mythic feel. The genius was the merging of clips from The Wizard of OZ seamlessly with the new footage through the use of lighting and editing. The right shading here, the right colors there, add an odd juxtaposition or two and the video looks much bigger than its budget. Gayle and Symbol have created  a very interesting world here.

The song itself is a little more psychedelic, a little more pop than the stuff we heard Symbol sing with his band Nursing Home. The pop elements dull the edges a bit, curbing some of the nihilism and rage that we heard on Nursing Home's self-titled debut EP.

For my part, I can't wait to hear the rest of the album.

*Update! Turns out "Emerald City" is not actually on the album. It's a stand alone song. Also, the new album is going to be called Voidhead.