Emerald City (John Vanderslice album)

It was officially released in the United States on July 24, 2007, after having been leaked to the internet on or around June 23, 2007.

[1] Vanderslice has said about the album: "I was so beaten down after the 2000 election and after 9/11 and then the invasion of Iraq, Afghanistan; I was so depleted as a person after all that stuff happened, that I had to write my way out of it.

"[2] The name of the album references both the nickname of the fortified Green Zone in Baghdad and the name of the city in The Wizard of Oz.

[3] Entertainment Weekly called the album "a gleaming gem" that doesn't disappoint.

[5] Calling Vanderslice a "master story-teller", Matt Fink of Paste said that Emerald City was "vividly imagined yet subtle in tone, with conflicted character sketches unfolding around somber synth melodies, creaky electronic effects, and fuzzy acoustic guitar strums.