by Richie UnterbergerAfter 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 Republics 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 Lichers relocation to Arizona in their evocation of desert landscapes on releases like 1995s Incident at Cima and 1996s 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.