I'm From Barcelona

An important date for the Swedes of I'm From Barcelona on July 13th in Padua. Important, first of all, because of the artists involved, a big name that's still under-recognized and somewhat snubbed for the supposed frivolity of their music. But also important because it's a real test of the solidity of the hosting event, the Radar Festival, a showcase running through the whole of August in the heart of Padua, in the atmospheric (and pleasantly ventilated) underground venue of the Bastione Alicorno.

Audience turnout is more than good, considering the timing (mid-July, on a weeknight). Only a delegation of the original nearly thirty-strong line-up takes the stage: voice and guitar, three female backing singers, three male backing singers, bass, trumpet, drums, two guitars, keyboards, accordion and percussion. The festival's none-too-spacious stage is pushed to its limits. The sound that pours out is breathtaking, saturated, imposing, a whole different story from the polished studio-album productions; the acoustics and the PA system barely hold up under the wall of sound.

Through new songs taken from the latest album, “Forever Today”, like “Charlie Parker”, “Get In Line”, “Dr. Landy” and “Come On”, alongside old favorites like the band's anthem “We're From Barcelona”, or “Headphones”, “Treehouse” and “Jenny”, the crowded ensemble proves itself a clan of professional entertainers. Choreography, stage design, balloons, confetti, even a stage-diving moment demanded by one of the backing singers calling the crowd up, engaging childlike sing-alongs: these are all elements the collective blends with cunning and total enthusiasm.

Their stylistic influences coalesce into a kind of mega-Mamas & Papas over-amplified by a Phil Spector on overdose, or a party-loving Fleetwood Mac stripped of any trace of melancholy and launched onto a rollercoaster. But the live dimension also helps bring their key ingredients to the fore far more than listening to the records does: the Spanish-tinged trumpet (hence the “Barcelona” in their name), the punchy rhythms, the intertwining voices, the sticky-sweet dance moves.

In the universe of choral pop, the "perennial" party thrown by I’m From Barcelona knows no fatigue or sterility. A litmus test for our inner “child”.

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