LEAVING VENICE - Price Of Caring

It's a pleasure to note that the shoegaze revival has firmly taken hold in Italy too, with a new generation of bands picking up the genre's aesthetic and making it relevant for the uncertain times we live in. For those new to the genre, shoegaze was born in the 90s as an introspective alternative to the exuberance of britpop and the nihilism of grunge. Layers of heavily effected guitars (guitarists staring down at the pedals and effects they're using), voices buried softly in the mix, and stretched-out tempos gave rise to a reflective take on rock, grounded in emotion and the personal experience of uncertainty and vulnerability. The bands who made the genre's history (My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive and Ride) have weathered the ups and downs and are now leading a new wave that speaks directly to today's need to rediscover tenderness, emotion, empathy. New bands like Whitelands have picked up the torch, enchanting even the hardest of hearts with their celestial sounds. That's why, as I was saying, it's heartening that the shoegaze wave has reached Italy and is winning over ever more fans among lovers of alternative music, to the point that people are now talking about 'italogaze'.

Piacenza's Leaving Venice are worthy representatives of the scene, with their walls of guitars, ethereal vocals and melodic openings on a par with their British counterparts. Their debut album, the just-released "Price Of Caring" (out via Dear Gear Records), stands as a reference point for the Italian scene. The young band, made up of Sara Groppi (vocals, guitar), Nicolò Botti (guitar), Tommaso Botti (bass) and Diego Cardini (drums), draws on the genre's key touchstones and puts them to work in service of writing that is both captivating and energetic, for an album that grapples with the dilemma of fully living one's own emotions: "The songs on 'Price Of Caring' tell of how, in confronting others and the world we inhabit, emotional intensity can turn into a burden, a silent struggle, even as it allows us to experience everything to the fullest".

The alternation between moments of calm and stormy outbursts musically embodies the burden we carry in an age obsessed with appearances - that is, whether to fully live our experiences or hide our emotions so as not to appear vulnerable: "This aesthetic isn't just a musical language, but an expressive device that amplifies the conflict at the heart of the album: letting things slide off you to protect and hide yourself, or freeing and celebrating your emotional nature, immersing yourself in it".

"Heaven's Bright", one of the two singles, stands out for its distinctly 90s riffs and the guitar entrance that immediately energizes the track as it builds. "Coming Clean" opens with a brisk rhythm and a chord progression that pays homage to Ride's expansive openings, before settling down to focus on the vocal melody and regaining expressive force halfway through. "Zebra", the first single, is slow and dreamy in a way only Slowdive can pull off, with reverb and interwoven guitars taking center stage, while the intensity of the chorus lends the track real emotional weight, capped by a final solo that sends the song soaring. "Price Of Caring" is built on guitar harmonies fused with the vocals, one of the album's dreamiest tracks, fittingly telling of "the price of caring".

"Price Of Caring" is an album that needs a little room to breathe and let itself wash over you, and it's a great way into shoegaze - and maybe even a way to fall in love with it.

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28/05/2026