Despite this being only his first album, Jonathan Geer already has some impressive credentials behind him. Not only has he earned an MA in Film Scoring but he has collaborated with independent film directors, assisted in writing a musical and composed the internet promo trailer for the film 'I Heart Huckabees'. 'Essex' is based on the story of the Nantucket whaleship rather than the English county and can loosely be labelled a concept album. This instrumental work is ambitious in scope, taking into account the seafaring flute exploits of 'Nantucket' before moving into haunting and euphoric ambient territory with 'Departure' and proceeding on to more classical pieces such as 'The Island'. At times the tracks veer towards the incidental and all too brief but Geer shows an admirable and unabashed versatility which has more than a touch of Mike Oldfield about it.