Mehr

Recorded in Kuala Lumpur, mixed in Switzerland, and featuring a cast of Iranian musicians, singer-guitarist Pouya Mahmoodi’s first solo CD is a truly cosmopolitan undertaking—and that’s both a blessing and something of a curse. Mehr is being billed as a groundbreaking Persian-rock fusion, but that’s a mild overstatement; it’s more like deracinated soft rock mixed with influences from all over the map. At times a ’60s influence bubbles to the surface: the string-sweetened “Si Pareh” updates the Moody Blues, while the flute-laced “Dingomaro” does the same for Traffic. Hints of Bollywood filter through on “Raz O Niaz”, “Bamdad” aims for Peter Gabriel–style drama, and “Me Va To” slinks along to an Ali Farka Touré–approved desert-blues beat.