ALBUM REVIEWS
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ALBUM REVIEWS |
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Tartufi
NESTS OF WAVES AND WIRES SOUTHERN RECORDS 18.5.09 @www.vanguard-online.co.uk
Delving back in this reviewer’s mind for a comparison, I reach for the Cocteau Twins and My Bloody Valentine. There are a few more contemporary bands in the mix but these are the touchstones for the scale and intent of the sound. The symphonic aspirations of Arcade Fire and God Speed! You Black Emperor, to name just two, share common ground as well and, if you like one, the other will make you grin. Guitars chime like glockenspiels, female vocals rise and fall independent of the intonations of speech or conventional song. It is a dizzying mixture and raises a smile from the outset. Drumming is very present, a solid part of the shape, rather than a mere propulsive mechanism. It is like the sound of the record has been levered open to give a bigger stage to the sound. And who’d’ve thought you’d’ve needed it – Tartufi are a duo. Layer upon layer floats in the air or spirals in the haze of sunshine through glass. Having formed in San Francisco in 2001 as a power-pop trio, their journey has taken them to a place where art and artifice meet hidden beauties as a band harder to categorise. It’s not all floaty and lovely, there are plenty of thrilling and tougher moments, including some moments quite like the drum band Budgie and Siouxsie Sue had, The Creatures. They say the live show is great and that’s a thing of wonder – this sound seems very much born in the studio – full of overdubs and careful assemblage. Songs go on for as long as it takes: 7 songs in 55 minutes – you do the maths….. There is time for themes to develop, mantras to build and a hypnotic drift to pass between your ears like sitting by a window on a snowy, windy day, watching the world’s shapes change. www.southern.com |
