(Make Me a) TRISTE© Mixtape Episode 88: Cormac O Caoimh

Cormac O Caoimh

Cork singer-songwriter Cormac O Caoimh has released five albums to date: his debut, Start A Spark was out in 2007, followed five years later by A New Season For Love. The Moon Loses Its Memory came out in 2014 and Shiny Silvery Things in 2017. His latest album, Swim Crawl Walk Run was out in 2020 and was his first out on vinyl as well as in cd. It was number 8 in the top 10 selling albums in Ireland for that year and entered the Official Irish IRMA charts and topped the Official Irish Indie charts. In Ireland he is on the Irish airwaves a lot. In the UK, although he has been played on BBC Ulster, BBC Wales, BBC Merseyside, BBC Scotland, BBC Radio 6 and countless regional, local, and digital stations is still very much an ‘unknown’. A indie-pop unknown. A legendary indie-pop unknown. A veteran legendary indie-pop unknown. His intimate vocals, magical melodies and exquisite guitar playing has always attracted very favourable appeal to critics always quick to point to his unique style as well as comparisons to acts varying from the dreamy pop of Badly Drawn Boy, Elliott Smith and Prefab Sprout to the introspective and more folk-oriented Nick Drake and Paul Simon. In 2022 O Caoimh released two singles and another one (Didn’t We, written in collaboration with Lindy Morrison of legendary band The Go-Betweens) will be out tomorrow.

Continua a leggere

Bruno Bavota & Chantal Acda – A Closer Distance

Peppe Trotta per TRISTE©

Ha del miracoloso la connessione profonda che può unire due artisti, quella capacità di vibrare all’unisono assecondando la propria sensibilità. Non necessariamente questa sintonia nasce tra autori afferenti ad ambiti sonori condivisi e questa apparente mancanza di affinità si rivela valore aggiunto che esalta la perfezione dell’incastro trovato.
È stato il primo pensiero ad affiorare giungendo in fondo all’ascolto di A Closer Distance, virtuoso incontro tra il pianismo emozionale di Bruno Bavota e il folk intimista di Chantal Acda.

Continua a leggere

Gabriels – Angels & Queens Part I

Carlotta Corsi per TRISTE©

Avevo davvero voglia di ritornare sono contenta che, dopo tutto il britpop nostalgico ed estivo, sia riuscita finalmente a trovare l’album giusto e il tempo per scrivere del genere che mi ha appassionato da così tanti anni, scoperto mentre studiavo canto: Angels & Queens Part I dei Gabriels mi ha riportata indietro a quello splendido momento -ormai quasi dieci anni fa- in cui scoprivo i tecnicismi dell’R&B e le morbidezza graffiante del neo-soul con gran purezza e genuinità. 

Continua a leggere

Sorry – Anywhere But Here

Francesco Giordani per TRISTE©

Lo ammetto candidamente. Non mi avevano conquistato più di tanto i Sorry con il loro esordio 925, apparso nel marzo 2020 e ben accolto tanto dalla critica quanto dal pubblico di settore, pur in assenza di un vero e proprio tour promozionale a far da traino. Una prova non certo brutta, sia chiaro, che lasciava tuttavia trasparire un potenziale comunicativo per lo più inesploso, ancora piuttosto vago, un po’ Kills, un po’ XX, un po’ Yeah Yeah Yeahs, un po’ anche Goat Girl o Porridge Radio, solo per venire alla cronaca più recente.

Continua a leggere

(Make Me a) TRISTE© Mixtape Episode 87: Her Skin

Her Skin

Her Skin, 26-year-old Sara Ammendolia, is an Italy-based singer-songwriter. Sara is originally from Modena, Italy, and began writing songs when she was fifteen. Having a passion for music since as long as she can remember, the first song she ever liked was Le Freak by Chic. Her Skin first Ep, Goodbyes and Endings, came out in September 2015 and, in May 2016, she released her second EP Head Above the Deep.
Her debut album Find A Place To Sleep was out in 2018 on We Were Never Being Boring, and, after three singles, Suitable, Heavy-Heated and Confident, her sophomore album I started a garden (her debut UK album) is out now, again on WWNBB, containing nine new songs.
She takes her inspiration from artists such as Sibylle Baier, Vashti Bunyan, Mac DeMarco, Beirut, Joni Mitchell, Jay Malinowski, The Kinks, the Head and the Heart.
Her Skin has a thing for very sad lyrics combined with delicate and light-hearted melodies.

Continua a leggere