After the demise of
Savage Republic, guitarist
Bruce Licher formed
Scenic, which creates similar moody (and occasionally doomy) guitar-dominated instrumentals with strong Middle-Eastern influences. Unlike
Savage Republic, however,
Scenic -- a trio which also includes Brock Wirtz on drums and James Brenner, formerly of
Shiva Burlesque, on bass -- plays entirely instrumental material. Their debut album,
Incident at Cima (1995), took
Savage Republic's post-punk raga-rock into gentler, more melodic territory. The post-punk is still there, but the influences of
Ennio Morricone and southwest border music are just as prominent, reflecting Licher's relocation to Arizona in their evocation of desert landscapes on releases like 1995's
Incident at Cima and 1996's Aquatica and
Sage. The band did little recording for the next few years, save for a live album, but in 2000 the limited-edition Spheres EP unveiled a new song as well as two demo tracks. Many thought an album was soon to follow, but it was another three years until The Acid Gospel Experience, a lengthy collection of instrumentals that reflected their influences in Bollywood soundtracks and psychedelic rock. ~ Richie Unterberger