Tiziano Casola per TRISTE©
A solo un anno dall’eccelso Everything Harmony, The Lemon Twigs tornano con l’altrettanto splendido A Dream Is All We Know.
La ricetta resta la stessa: canzoni perfette, in bilico tra Wings, Beach Boys e innumerevoli riferimenti stilistici ai primi anni Settanta. L’esplosione pop dei Lemon Twigs manda ovunque schegge di chitarre a 12 corde, voci sovraincise, lick armonizzati alla Brian May e chi più ne ha più ne metta.
Constant Follower is the alias of songwriter Stephen McAll, whose instantly compelling and moving debut album, the Kramer co-produced, Neither is Nor Ever Was (Shimmy Disc), was shortlisted for the SAY Award (Scottish Album of the Year) in 2022. Turn Around For Me is his new single. Available from May 9, 2024, the track was co-produced and mixed in Austin, Texas by Dan Duszynski, known for his work with Loma, Cross Records and Brian Eno.
Retaining the lyrical depth and intricate melodies Constant Follower is celebrated for, Turn Around For Me also features compelling hooks and an unexpected gentle rhythmic pulse packed into its 2.30mins running time. This combination is compulsively addictive, ensuring the song will remain on repeat. With echoes of icons The Go-Betweens and The National, Constant Follower crafts a sound that’s equally suited to the bright start of morning radio or the reflective hours of late-night listening. In addition to the digital release, an exclusive 7” vinyl version is available only on Bandcamp, featuring the amazing AA-side See You Soon.
The single is accompanied by a stunning stop animation video by Japanese animator Tsumugi Yagi, whom they’ve worked with before for Space Between Stars, whose video was premiered here.
Francesco Giordani per TRISTE©
La recente prematura scomparsa di Steve Albini inevitabilmente ci spinge a riflettere sull’importanza che i produttori o, perlomeno, alcuni produttori hanno avuto nel nutrire e spesso anche orientare l’evoluzione della nostra prediletta popolar music.
Se sul contributo specifico (ovviamente gigantesco) di Albini ben poco possiamo sperare di aggiungere rispetto a quanto di bello e talvolta anche commovente si è potuto leggere in questi amarissimi giorni di maggio, non possiamo né dobbiamo dimenticare che nella musica contemporanea esistono ancora maestranze (come molto teneramente si usava definirle un tempo…), autori e produttori capaci di lasciare un segno tutt’altro che effimero su quanto giunge alle nostre orecchie, sebbene molto o quasi tutto, attorno a noi, paia troppo spesso suggerire l’esatto contrario.
Matteo Maioli per TRISTE©
Gioele Valenti, polistrumentista palermitano attivo musicalmente dai primi anni duemila, è un esempio più unico che raro di outsider di qualità che non scende a compromessi e ha più seguito all’estero che in Italia. Già protagonista con i Lay Llamas, negli ultimi tempi si è rivelato al pubblico con due distinti alter-ego, il primo di impronta indie-folk a tocchi noir (Herself) e l’altro maggiormente psychedelic-rock e kraut (Juju).
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Katherine Perkins writes songs and paints in Maine. Her music and artwork explore light and color, the ocean and the human heart.
As the leader of the Brooklyn based band Rose Hips & Ships, she released The Seafarer, in 2013, and The Colors Now, in 2020. Her paintings have been shown at the Cynthia Winings Gallery, in Blue Hill, Maine and Swallowfield, in Northeast Harbor.
Through time spent in her earlier projects -apart from Rose Hips and Ships, the debaucherous basement rock band Harvey Eyeballs- Perkins discovered aspects of the self she wanted to be in her songs, gradually revealing what would become her new solo project of poetic personal reflections. Being Younger, her debut solo album, is a collection of vivid, evocative songs about love in all its forms, in which Perkins assembles the perfect cast of seasoned and sensitive players to create the lush instrumentation and grounded, danceable grooves that make the ideal companion for her breezy vocals.
Her new record, Being Younger, is due out on Twelve | Eight Records on June 21st, 2024.
Indie Sunset in Rome 