QUE PIENSAN DE ESTE DISCO
PRESS - EUROPE
AUSTRIA
CRACKED
Franklin Delano call their approach the "dark side of post folk"
and it fits, so why write a whole review? Because this record deserves it. Actually,
it deserves a lot more. I'd never dare to call this a demo as they do themselves
- it is a proper release and it stands right there next to the best of bands that
mix post-rock, alternative country and modern psychedelia. Seven songs of delirious
emotionality, longwinding dynamics and desperate searches for answers, accompanied
by a mixture of traditional instruments and very modern ideas. The psychedelic
meanderings are never meaningless or unrestrained, but draw the atmosphere of
the song out to the point of highest impact. No sound seems to be randomly put
or on here by accident (and if, it is perfect anyway). I do believe that the recording
of "all my senses are senseless today" had the magic feeling of something
coming alive by itself. Like the rusty patches on the old Dodge, that transmutates
from a wrack into a statue by ignoring time and denying to wither away.
The alt.country is everywhere, because it feeds from the soil and the soul and
from borders and history books. All over the globe there are bands diving deep
into the sounds of their instruments, dwelling in the divine harmony of minor-major
chord changes and drawing out the slow dynamics of their songs into longwinded
pathways, that are best compared to those iconic highways cutting through the
US-midwest and are so well known to everyone today. That much is an US-American
heritage, that's true, but that is almost as far as it goes. The same feeling
of alienation, loneliness and desertedness might get to you driving down a country-street
in Scandinavia or on the sandy roads in the Spanish Alhambra or even those legendary
truck-routes through Ukrainia. It is not a US-American invention; they only had
the best marketing. (See rock'n'roll for further details.)
Italy is the place where Franklin Delano come from, and I don't feel too well
by putting them into the alt.country-box, though if you count Califone - who they
have toured with - or the Friends of Dean Martinez or Red Red Meat in there as
well, it is alright. But then you could also name Fly Pan Am or Set Fire To Flames
into alt.country and then it gets quite ridiculous indeed. I am not even sure
if you should count Elliot Smith, Cat Power or Songs:Ohia in there, though it
is usually done. Where will that end - Bob Dylan and Van Morrisson? The whole
discussion seems stupid to me, so why did I start it right here? Maybe because
this record fits better into The Wire than into No Depression. (The Wire has Wilco
on the frontcover of its current issue, so there you go.)
What I wanted to get to is that Franklin Delano weave a lot of psychedelic undercurrents
and excursions into the otherwise straightforward yet outstretched songs, which
adds an absolutely interesting layer to their music. Take for instance the whining,
wailing guitar-solo closing down "about these nights". (The song also
holds the line that became the title of the album.) That song starts with gentle,
noise-picking on places on their guitars that you usually don't use, like the
bars holding and muting the swinging of the strings. Something that Sonic Youth
have done a lot, but that doesn't make Sonic Youth an alt.country-band (though
they definitely define the ideological point of the "alt"-part.) That
also means that Franklin Delano are much more than an average band, alt.country
or not.
Franklin Delano is the brainchild of Paolo Iocca, who sings and plays guitar.
He recruited almost the whole line-up of the Italian cult band Massimo Volume.
On this CD you'll get Marcella Riccardi (voice, guitars, mandolin and lapsteel)
and Vittoria Burattini (on drums) as steady parts of the band. Fourth steady member
is Stefano Pilia playing double bass and bass. As guests there is Massimo Glattel
on violin and Davide Cristian providing piano, field recordings and binaural inserts.
Obviously, the instrumentations are quite diverse, ranging from the most traditional
instruments to some serious trickery in the studio. Yet they have managed to make
all the songs sound like they come from one source, with the overall feeling staying
the same for the whole 50 minutes the music lasts. They have noted that the recording
is rather poor, done in a small studio in just a few days. If that is true, I
wonder what they would have done in a big studio with a lot of time. You won't
hear a lot of glitches on this record. Quite contrary, the not so clean and crisp
recording quality adds warmth and emotionality to the otherwise very sombre and
depressed atmosphere.
The seven tracks on "all my senses are senseless today" average at about
seven minutes, so they take their time. The added feeling of timelessness, of
being somebody from outside watching the world turn, not being a part of it, adds
a layer of narrative power. Accordingly, all the songs in some way deal with a
narrator, sometimes in first person sometimes told in third person, that finds
himself at an emotional turning point in his life, having to ask the hardest questions
of himself and forcing fate to give a sign which way to turn. Of course, the lyrics
keep almost all hints as to what has happened before a secret. The listener gets
pictures of cold winter nights, lonely motel rooms, people staring into mirrors
for long times. Sometimes you feel the anger, spraying from words such as "he
head fold, he head crack, his mind started to stall" (from "He")
with the guitar-noises to match the pain and confusion going on in that mind and
the song-arrangement building up and up and up until a sudden release stops it
all.
When all has been said and sung, when the last tone of the amps and guitars has
faded into the silence of cold, black nightly air, what remains are a few central
thoughts. Like, acoustic guitars and hypnotic trance go together. Self-reflective
moments full of catharsis and illumination usually occur at night. Driving is
the ultimate motion of the modern human being.
Georg Gartlgruber (7/2004)
IRELAND
ECLECTIC HONEY
Franklin Delano's Italian origins may well betray their ability to construct
epic near-instrumental guitar soundscapes, that would not be out of place in any
American suburb. Indeed, the very fact that they have lifted their name from a
former US President, hints that the band's direction nestles more to the West
of the Atlantic.
Opening track Question shimmers with fragments of Godspeed and Rumah Sakit, while
Marcella Riccardi's vocals have the richness and depth of PJ Harvey. Both He and
You Told Me are reminiscent of Slint's Spiderland, while Hello is more melodic
and laid-back, held together with a folky byline and penetrative percussion. The
aforementioned closer, You Told Me almost threatens with a sinister air of Shellac
.
In spite of its mere seven tracks, the term mini-album does not do justice to
All My Senses are Senseless Today, as Franklin Delano have a penchant for stretching
their songs to their elastic point. So much so, that All my Senses… is virtually
typical post-rock fare, only without the rock. Indeed Franklin Delano offer their
songs a lighter touch than the brooding torrents that are so typical of their
post-rock contemporaries, but it is still one which is worthy of attention.
Review written by Michelle Dalton
Album: All My Senses Are Senseless Today
Label: Zahr records
Released: 2004
