Editorial Reviews Music Review:
Music Review
Mother Juno [Extra tracks] [Original recording remastered]
Weekend Classics: Great Rossini Overtures
Vierne: Symphonies Nos. 3 and 4
Who Do You Love [CD-single] [Enhanced] [Import]
Who The Hell Is John Eddie? [Explicit Lyrics]
Amazon.com
Taking their name from a Syd Barrett song, Jennifer Gentle play '60s psych-pop in a style all their own. Italians Marco Fasolo and Alessio Gastoldello--boys, not girls as their name might suggest--blend traditional pop elements: fuzzed-out guitars, falsetto vocals, and thoughtful percussion mixed with glockenspiel, harmonium, combo organ, phased violins, and even kazoo. The result is acoustically hypnotic and surprising. On Valende they've made an authentic psychedelic album that expresses the benefit of the post-punk era like their contemporaries Ghost. The inclusion of field recorded birds and the crackle of trampled leaves; the right- and left-panned drums; and warm, woody bass sounds provide a great backing for the tenuous guitar transitions. "I Do Dream You" is a fast catchy, Tomorrow-esque ready-steady-go skiffle with purposefully placed R&B organ riffs. Fasolo's vocals move from sounding disinterested and drugged-out in "Universal Daughter" and "Tiny Holes" to an almost luscious whispering on the rainy-day lullaby "Circles of Sorrow." A sudden daring moodshift happens midway through the album with "Hessesopoa," a total freak-out, that breaks down sunny pop into experimental art-rock noise reminiscent of Albert Ayler. The album closer, "Nothing Makes Sense" runs the gamut from Stereo Total-like exuberance into a straightforward march, albeit with sped-up Alvin, Simon & Theodore vocals, finally settling into some unexpected whale sounds to round out the otherworldliness. Valende is solid psych-pop: It is familiar yet pushes the edge in a playful, daring way that isn't predictable. --Gabi Knight