Francesco Giordani. Caro Francesco, ti scrivo dopo aver ascoltato, in auto, e dall’inizio alla fine, senza pause (una sì, lo confesso, ma solo per controllare l’esito infausto di Bayern Monaco-Lazio…), questo disco dei nostri beniamini manchesteriani. La mia destinazione era l’aeroporto di Fiumicino, dove i miei genitori appena atterrati mi attendevano e il caso ha voluto che, per via di alcuni non meglio precisati lavori, ad un certo punto il tragitto comportasse un’imprevista deviazione per Trigoria (sigh…). Questo ha fatto sì che, a mano a mano che mi addentravo nell’ascolto delle canzoni dell’album, la mia vista si perdesse nel buio di strade tortuose, mai battute prima, spesso dissestate o pochissimo illuminate, scandite da curve a gomito e improvvisi avvallamenti, in un’identificazione ai limiti dello psicomagico con i riff bizantini, piacevolmente debordanti, “ipnagogici”, di John Squire.
After having visited many different territories, Joe Moore is back with a dream-pop, shoegazing, folk-pop album with certain crooner touches, where melodic elegance, the most profound relaxation, and romanticism are all back in full force. This new effort is being released under the name SUNLIT, and it is new proof that there is no musical ground that Joe Moore can’t inhabit, with marvelous creativity and tremendous results. The amount and diversity of the albums he has released and produced for Elefant Records since 2011 is unparalleled. Everything started with The Yearning’s Jukebox Romance (2012), a wonderful chamber pop record, reminiscent of those girl groups from the 50s. Since then, he has made music with Lia Pamina; he has produced R’n’B and electronic pop for Maddie Mae; and he has written eighties-style Italo Disco and europop with Cristina Quesada.He has also collaborated with Julie Big (ex-singer from Le Superhomard) on the Julie Et Joeproject, with which he paid a well-deserved tribute to 80s French pop (Elli Et Jacno, Lio, Mikado…). He explored electronic pop with Holly Vanags under the name The Perfect Kiss, and, together with Luci Ashbourne, paid tribute to Abba, to disco music, and 70s pop in general on his last album with The Yearning. With this new project Joe steps into a new space that he has never entered before, and this time he sings the songs himself. Swimming through seas of dream pop, influenced by groups like Cocteau Twins, Julee Cruise, Chris Isaak, The Stone Roses, Lee Hazlewood, Alvvays, Beach House and Cowboy Junkies, Joe Moore gives us something beautiful and captivating that is characterized by the austerity of its arrangements, exactly the opposite of The Yearning, and the perfection of the melodies. He takes on all the vocals, and with a few guitars, bass, drums, and the occasional keyboard, he fills songs that take us to a place somewhere between Richard Hawley and Mazzy Star. Sunlit will be out tomorrow, March 8 2024, on Elefant Records.
“All we could do Forever blue You breathe for me I’ll breathe for you Light and darkness swim through the night Your soft hand in mine“
Non so bene quando, ma a un certo punto le cose hanno cominciato ad andare per il verso sbagliato. Coloro che, avendone mezzi e possibilità, avrebbero dovuto guidarci, usare a fin di bene le proprie conoscenze, la propria posizione, il proprio potere, la propria influenza, per portarci, noi tutti, esseri umani, verso un cambiamento, verso un miglioramento, verso un arricchimento della società e degli individui, hanno finito per irregimentarsi e seguire il gregge, per farsene loro stessi influenzare, e, invece di scegliere di cercare di indirizzare le pecorelle smarrite verso un sentiero virtuoso, le stanno accompagnando, allegramente, verso il baratro. Forse è successo quando l’avvento della rete e dei social network ha trasformato tutti -anche gli sparuti intellettuali superstiti- in tristi personaggi in cerca di consenso, di riscontro immediato, di un prestigio non più faticosamente guadagnato con lo studio e l’impegno, ma con lo spasmodico inseguimento del trend del momento, del carro a cui agganciarsi per ottenere il fatidico quarto d’ora di celebrità.
Y Dail (‘The Leaves’) is the musical project of 20-year-old Huw Griffiths from Pontypridd, South Wales, writing in both Welsh and English. Starting in 2020, the band have released a string of singles which have received excellent reviews and single-of-the-week awards on music blogs and websites. Forthcoming debut album Teigr has been several years in the making, and is partly inspired by Griffiths’s love of 70s Welsh-language pop he remembers from school discos and his parents’ record collection. He also cites Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci, Joe Meek, Television and early Prefab Sprout as influences. With the album’s completion and release delayed by the inevitable pandemic story, 2021 saw the deceptively young Griffiths juggling finalising the record with studying for his A Levels, eventually putting the finishing touches to the record with producer Kris Jenkins (ex Super Furry Animals) at Grangetown Studios, Cardiff in the lull following. Since then, Marc Riley has championed the band on his BBC 6Music show, calling Griffiths’ songs “perfect pop”, and national treasure Gruff Rhys has called the band “magnificent”, with Y Dail previously performing a radio session for BBC 6music’s Huw Stephens, who has been a long term fan. Their 2022 standalone single Whizz Kids was released via much-loved Welsh language label Libertino Records (Adwaith, CHROMA, Sister Wives) and featured on Domino Records’ Sound System playlist.
“Jenny said When she was just about five years old You know why parents gonna be the death of us all Two TV sets and two Cadillac cars Well you know, it ain’t gonna help me at all, not just a tiny bit Then one fine mornin’ she turns on a New York station She doesn’t believe what she hears at all Ooh, she started dancin’ to that fine fine music You know her life is saved by rock ‘n’ roll, yeah rock ‘n’ roll Despite all the computations You could just dance To that rock ‘n’ roll station“ Velvet Underground – Rock & Roll
Indie Sunset in Rome 