FLAME PARADE - Cannibal Dreams

Following their new folk-flavored debut "A New Home" (2016) and the sophomore effort "Cosmic Gathering" (2020), Flame Parade had chosen to gradually widen their sonic horizons through the dreamy suites and post-rock touches of the EP "Echoes" (2021), an evolution that comes to fruition on their new studio album "Cannibal Dreams". The third album by the Tuscan band made up of Marco Zampoli, Letizia Bonchi, Mattia Calosci and Francesco Agozzino, as well as the first to be produced together with Lecce-based artist Matilde Davoli (Giorgio Tuma, Indian Wells, I'm Not A Blonde), moves mainly between dream-pop and electropop, letting shoegaze and indie-pop flourishes surface time and again.

The journey kicks into gear with the drumming and beats that shake up the melodies of the effective "Stay Together", continuing along a similar line with the crystalline synths of "December". We're pulled into a dreamlike atmosphere by the reflective bassline and retro synth flashes, somewhere between the Seventies and Eighties à-la Temples, on "Mirror On The Wall", a mood sustained by the even more placid and romantic dimension of "One Of These Days I'll Steal Your Heart", right through to the piano and backing vocals taking absolute center stage on the spare "People", which faintly recalls Blue Foundation's gentle "Eyes On Fire".

The second half of the record opens with the muffled, synthetic textures of "Dahlias", a track featuring Matilde Davoli on second vocals, and heads toward accommodating, unruffled sounds between indie-pop and lounge and soft-rock shades, recalling Tennis's "Swimmer" on "South Sunset", and the jazzy bass lines of "Loving (Each Other) A Bit".

The intro of the ethereal "Ballad Of The Ghost", featuring Roberto Dell'era (Dellera) on bass, turns its gaze toward an electro-tinged take on the Jesus And Mary Chain's "Nine Million Rainy Days" from the Jesus And Mary Chain, handing the listener over to the epically paced finale, shaped by the interweaving of guitars and synths, of "This Changes Everything".

Coherent and well-balanced, "Cannibal Dreams" boasts excellent production, decent songwriting and several interesting sonic ideas, concentrated mostly in the first half of the record. While there's no particular innovation to speak of, these small merits confirm the growing potential of Flame Parade, in particular their constant drive toward an internationally minded sound, and make you want to follow their next moves.

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03/11/2023