OndaLabel #7

A thriving agency and record label from the Milan area founded by young Simone Castello and Matteo Agostino, Costello’s has been promoting, producing and distributing records for the alternative scene for over five years now. In this new quarterly feature, we pick out ten of the best releases they’ve put out lately, with a link to listen.

Brücke – Yeti’s Cave (self-released, 2017)

post-rock

A young band from Livorno just freshly formed, the four members of Brücke make their debut with the EP “Yetis’ Cave”. Right from the start, “Annaciccia” shows their determination as precocious composers even before they're skilled players: a leaden, rarefied atmosphere of chimes, electric piano and soft guitar glissandos mutates into unsettling scenes and dark chasms. With less pathos, and instead a seductive, muted Middle Eastern guitar tone, “Tebe” pays worthy homage to Godspeed via Savage Republic. The noble spirit of the Doors' "Strange Days" then lives on across two tracks. “Ovomoltino”, almost trip-hop, sickly with muted fanfares, sinks into a swamp of sound effects, and connects to the abstract painting of concrete sounds found in “Carrarmatozzi”, which really does sound like a perfect replica of Morrison and co.'s "Horse Latitudes". Despite its flaws (the rave-style beat doesn't work, as in the raw, conventional “Prosciutto”), this is one of the most adventurous Italian EPs of the last five years. Guest contributions are put to good use, from vocals to horns (two clarinets, no less).

Slowtide – Slowtide (Prismopaco, 2017)

alt-pop

A softly-paced anthem built entirely on a cappella harmonies (“Leeway”). That's how the self-titled debut album by Milanese quintet Slowtide opens, gradually taking shape through imperceptibly shifting filigrees. The jungle rhythms of “Alaska” update the Berlin folktronica of the early-2000s Morr Music roster, while “Knights” is one of the most solemn and crystalline tracks here, “Interlude” evokes a vibrant refrain in the style of Sinead O’Connor, and towards the end “What A Great Place” hands-down wins the prize for the most lovable, sing-along (in chorus) refrain. The heart of the record, though, is thoroughly exotic: the true gem is “Anchorites”, an equatorial bolero for voices disfigured by soft electronic distortion in the style of Jon Hassell, while the lesser “Caves” is a doo-wop-paced serenade with Caribbean metallophone. When the song itself falls short, as on “Rats”, vocal skill (Michele Rossetti, paired with Annalisa Bosotti) makes up for it. This is post-pop that blurs the line between complexity and fragility, aiming to pick up the failed mission of Xx and Friends. It risks slipping into icy detachment at times, but its heart is exactly there, perfectly at home in the contemporary landscape of wonky, tech-step and neo-neo-soul.

Lekka – Lekka (self-released, 2017)

house

A Milan-based trio, Luca Piana and Matteo Matecca, both on vocals and electronics, joined by Fabio Zampieri on drums. Their aim is to blur the line between technological dance music and rock-driven groove: the result blends elements of both into a recipe of pure “fun” on their debut EP “Lekka”. “Following Euphoria”, the mid-tempo, warm-toned opener, could easily be a companion piece to Moroder’s "From Here To Eternity". On the sprightly “Nervous” and “Gustavo Fring” the vocals disappear, replaced by samples, making room for skillful, fun sequencer work, all while almost rigorously respecting the patterns of old-school electro. The 9 minutes of “Lekka Rework” amount to a mash-up of other people's material, but they also hint at an ambitious possible future. Overall, this sits squarely in french-touch territory, orphaned grandchildren of New Order, retro-futurism, sci-fi discotheques. Fans of the style will be delighted, while others — regardless of taste — will still appreciate its solid, wound-up energy.

Ferbegy? – Roundabout (Riff, 2017)

alt-rock

A slightly less ambitious follow-up to “Soul Echoes” (2014). This is the second album (third if you count the 2010 mini-album “What If Trees Could Speak”, which trod paths since abandoned) by the Mongelli siblings from Trento, Anna and Dario, titled “Roundabout”, and featuring a new rhythm section: Alessandro Damian on bass and Federico Groff on drums, both also contributing backing vocals. The blend of electronic production and orchestration works wonders in giving birth to neurasthenic post-Jefferson Airplane marches (“Butterfly Lullaby”, with a long folk-electro dance intro), syncopated dances (“Athletic Meditation”, with a robotic nymph's vocal that soars while the dance ripples tribal and mysterious), which then turn into rhythmic, transcendent stasis in the vein of Enigma (“Empty Street”), and canter through a hyperspace hallucination (“Forest Ranger”). A touch of class comes from the loop of eccentric, avant-garde sounds in the style of Laika, which accompanies a catatonic blues close to Cowboy Junkies, “How Many Times”, lending it a suspended, unsettling, unreal quality. Even a lightweight funk-techno number like “They See You Alone” is actually a theatrical cubism of prompter's whispers and wounded declamation. A work that marks not only artistic maturity but also, and above all, a rare and courageous reaffirmation of aesthetic and stylistic identity.

My Best Compliments – Le Disavventure Amorose Di Walter e Carolina (Costello’s, 2017)

pop

Squarely in lo-fi and do-it-yourself territory. Fully immersed in the viral spontaneity of Internet 2.0. My Best Compliments is the brainchild, quirky but not overly so, of Walter Ferrari, a Milanese Bocconi-bred offspring, and his debut EP “Le Disavventure Amorose Di Walter e Carolina” is his autobiographical, yet more symbolic, concept. His ingredients: pre-recorded backing tracks, simple rhyming lyrics, vocals more or less heavily — but deliberately — infected by autotune, and a touch of hip-hop flavor. And of course the classic general malaise, well represented by “Colazione da Gattullo”, which also gives rise to a rather clever idea like the nonsensical, overwhelming chorus of “Alle fragole”, which disfigures and shreds the words. After shamelessly exploiting synths and vocal harmonies on the bouncy “Morire di malinconia”, comes the sentimental moment, first with “Le piante di plastica” (an almost stream-of-consciousness piece over a metronomic beat), and then with a stomp-paced serenade, “Shazam”, sung to himself, a latter-day loser. Worth hearing for how well he handles the tight spaces of a short running time, for his relentless, oblique catchiness, and for his innate talent for self-confession. On top of that, remixes of every song by an equal number of producers: Urameshi, Polezsky x HOOVR, breathe indoors, Emvnuel, Eshla.

We Fog – Float (self-released, 2017)

post-rock

A trio from Verona making their debut, We Fog's EP “Float” might, on first listen, sound like conservative nostalgics for classic post-rock. The production by Sergio Carlini of Three Second Kiss and the mastering by Bob Weston of Shellac put an unappealable seal on that impression. Their distinctive trait lies in the short running times, often under two minutes per track, compressing phrasing, variation and dynamic shifts into a kind of instrumental or semi-instrumental haiku. Aside from “Welcome” and “EPO”, still warm-up exercises, the sterile whisper of “Infinite” and the megaphone vocals of “Waiting For The Title” alternate with a jam of forceful chords, experiments in a titanic exchange between impressionism and expressionism packaged into harmonic pills. “Warm Bed” is the exception, both in length — unusually long here — and in form, a softened version of June Of ‘44. The trio go back to being instrumental on “Pixed”, pressing even harder on the hysteria pedal, and “Thursday Drop”, leaning towards emo-core romanticism. Still a formative work, but already restless and eager. The standout element comes from the newest addition, the fractured bass of Vic Bittencourt, well blended with Donato Fusco's guitar and, especially, Giulio Corradi's drums.

Wicked Expectation – Folding Parasite (self-released, 2017)

avant-rock

From Turin, Wicked Expectation debut with the robust "Visions" (2015), dominated by keyboards, dub bass and drums often launched into syncopated rhythms, betraying in the vocals an obvious but never overplayed Radiohead-esque inspiration. On "Folding Parasite" the band turns into pure process, evoking the transformation of Lucio Battisti's "E già". The best moments are indeed genuinely bold, creative and even disjointed: "Careless Of Doubts" is a chant that climbs a web of synths and vocal loops, then rises into a form of aggressive, reverb-drenched glitch-pop; in the luminescent concretion of "Parallel Collapses", the chorus is almost hymn-like; "A Place Full Of Sighs" flirts with zen music; the slow, theatrical progression of the title track seems to echo the second-era Alan Parsons Project. The most radio-friendly track, "Seriously Laughing", opts for a clever, singable body music. A few limits emerge in the counterpoints of "Starigrad", metaphysical in intent but ultimately frayed and superficial. Beyond the individual moments, which are only slightly uneven — whether in finish or in quality — the record convinces through the consistency of its mood, a kind of abstract introversion, also sustained by its decadent, symbolist lyrics. And, certainly, through its effort to avoid being pigeonholed into any genre.

Vikowski – Beyond The Skyline (Costello’s, 2017)

songwriter

The alter ego of Vincenzo Coppeta, based in Milan, Vikowski debuts with "Beyond The Skyline", a humble collection of piano-based songs that show, without ever overdoing it, a few classical-leaning touches. Starting with the heartfelt, gospel-tinged progression of "Lovers In P.", Coppeta updates the secular psalms of The National ("Drops") and the chants of Interpol ("Ninety-Two") for the age of Majical Cloudz's spartan electronics. The arrangement choices are subtle and almost imperceptible, like the dissonant veil that barely covers "Frankfurt", or like "The Beat You Need", built on electronics alone, emancipated from the piano, the peak of his subliminal eclecticism. And just as the style is about to derail into experimental territory, the artist returns to the fold, finally risking an introverted instrumental fantasia for solo piano, "End Of June". It's somewhat the same touch that ties together the whole economy of the album, along with an almost transcendental ballad that serves as its center of gravity and that Moz would love, "My Old Friend": a simplicity that's never banal, one with the power of spontaneity.

Earthset – Popism (self-released, 2017)

alt-rock

Conceived as a pop appendix — hence the title — to their full-length debut "In A State Of Altered Unconsciousness" (2015), the mini-album "Popism" by Romagna's Earthset pursues that same intent across its first three tracks. More than melodic songwriting, "Around The Head" is pure late-90s revivalism, a cross between Skunk Anansie's grunge-pop and Queens Of The Stone Age's stoner-pop. The same goes for "In The Pendant", practically an offshoot of Radiohead's "Paranoid Android", and for "Flush", with the typical adolescent melancholy drive of Smashing Pumpkins. On their own, these songs feel rushed and even a bit clumsy, but they also offer delicious interludes of suspended, hallucinated, even disorienting reworkings. They're small warning signs of the finale, where the four musicians return epically to what they do best, with a new melody, "Icarus' Flight" — incidentally the best of the lot — from which a psychedelic coda exhales, leading into the pyramidal construction of "Ghosts And Afterthoughts", topped by a lava-like pinnacle of disruptive force.

L.E.D. – L'irriverente (self-released, 2017)

new wave

A duo from the province of Pavia founded in 2015 by Max Tordini (vocals) and Marco Mangone (guitar), both already active in other projects, L.E.D. offers a batch of bizarre bonbons on their debut EP "L'irriverente". The closest reference point seems to be the existential hysteria of late-period Afterhours, but here it's handled with more method and enjoyment. The tracks almost always boast more than one arrangement rolled into one, from simple guitar strumming to electronic soundpainting to chamber pop. And the recipe is further muddled by a few (thinly veiled) tempo changes, as well as by shifts in scenery — genuine changes in tonal palette and sonic setup. The result is almost Babel-like, yet it remains prodigiously anchored to some kind of somewhat singable song structure. The highlights: "Curami", a nursery rhyme in the style of CSI with cha-cha and radio static, "9:30", a fractured and rarefied construct, "Naoki", a chaotic post-Suicide corrida, and finally "Tangenziale", a lush, fantastical marching-band fanfare, which incidentally shows how the pair also allow themselves to blur the lines between singer-songwriter fare and composition tout court.

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