QUE PIENSAN DE ESTE DISCO
PRESS - UNITED STATES
DELUSIONS OF ADEQUACY
When I think of "folk" music, I think of an inherently American phenomenon,
born in decades past in the rural tradition and popularized in the 1960s. But
really, folk music is just that, the traditional music of a region, and it can
be as varied as the people who have led to its creation. However, when hearing
folk music made by people outside of America, you get an interesting and often
unique perspective on the style.
The Italian band Franklin Delano calls its style of music "dark side of post-folk,"
an interesting term that raises Pink Floyd-esque connotations in my mind. More
likely, however, dark is used in terms of tone and mood, as All My Senses are
Senseless Today, the band's self-recorded debut, is a very dark album. With a
nice mix of acoustic and electric guitars, dobro, mandolin, piano, and strings,
the band has put a signature mark on a style appropriately labeled post-folk.
The mixture of Iocca's deep, moody voice and Marcella Riccardi's light, pretty
voice is an interesting contrast on the opening "Question," probably
the album's best track, which kicks off this album with a very dark, moody overtone.
After a gently drifting start, "About These Nights" floats along at
a leisurely and chillingly placid pace. The strangely twisted country/folk feel
of "Take Off" reminds me equally of Okkervil River and Sixteen Horsepower,
both bands that put their own unique twists on the folk genre. It continues on
"He," which veils the vocals with effects and puts the guitar and mandolin
up front, definitely prompting this to be my second favorite song here.
After the oddly chaotic ending to "He," "Hello" is nice and
straightforward, with some phenomenal guitar work and a nice mixture of strings
(which I'd love to see featured even more on other songs). It also is perhaps
the most aggressive rock song on the album. A wave of electric guitar filled with
distortion open the closing "You Told Me," leading into a throbbing
metal-feeling rhythm that's a tad jarring. But the song is by no means metal;
it's just layered with a stoner-esque rhythm that's an intriguing accompaniment.
The songs on All My Senses… are long, the shortest at just under six minutes
and the longest just under eight, and the band isn't afraid to take off on meandering
instrumental passages in these songs. That is actually some of the best moments
here, for while the vocals and lyrics are wonderfully dark and powerful, the band's
instrumental ability - and the musicians note the style is still developing as
there's been several band member changes - is extraordinary. Despite being recorded
in under a week on admittedly "poor technology," All My Senses is a
quietly powerful and exciting album. Highly recommended.
- Jeff Marsh, 6/7/2004
INDIE WORKSHOP
It was fate that brought this record into my hands. I had been complaining for weeks about bad music not making its way into my hands recently, while at the same time bitching incessantly about not being able to accompany my uncle to Italy to visit some family.
Enter Franklin Delano, a quasi-Califone, slow-core collection of Italians that have come up with what I consider to be the best album I've heard in months. With no songs clocking in under 5 minutes and 5 of the songs being over 7 minutes, this album has all the elements of a great album. 'Question' opens with some disarrayed guitar, off-time harmonics, and loose drumming, the lyrics roll into the song like a Chinook wind onto the Alberta plains, dark and low, blind to any criticism. Paolo Iocca's vocals are quickly joined by Marcella Riccardi's, and as the harmonics continue, each Paolo and Marcella add their own flare to the songs. 'About These Nights' opens with chirping birds, slowly joined by hints of distorted guitar and some distant cymbal crashes. A two-note bass loop gives the song all the qualities of an Up, Bustle, and Out tune, but whereas Up, Bustle, and Out may take the song into some galactic jazz atmoshpere, Franklin Delano keeps it simple, yet brilliant with acoustic picking, tip-tap drumming, and buried vocals. Hints of a horn section slide into the song here and there, deepening the song and adding to the already wonderful collection of layers that the band has come up with.
'He' is a blues-inspired, Tom Waits escapade into the realm of distorted vocals, lapsteep guitars and mandolins; yet before one can pull the Jack Daniels out, the song sways into a 5 minute one chord progression filled with distorted guitars and heavy drumming. It's everything that music should be: bold, fresh, something that I've never heard, and over 7 minutes. The only fault on this album is the final song. Somehow the band felt it necessary to nod to their European-deathmetal counterparts, but in an acoustic fashion. As a closer, "You Told Me" is a horrible end to a great album.
As summer fades and Autumn steps up to the plate, Franklin Delano is the perfect pissing-rain October evening album. This isn't barbecue music, nor first dance at your wedding music. It's after hours, wool socks music. Turn the kettle on mother fuckers, winter's right around the corner, but with Franklin Delano on your stereo, it will be your best winter yet.
darren | 09.15.2004
POP MATTERS
This group recorded this sparse and dark country album in their homeland of
Italy. But given the texture of the songs, it might seem more suitable for the
vast Nevada desert.
In no rush to see the ending of numbers like "Question", this group
-- led by Paolo Iocca's -- almost monotone style makes Knife In The Water seem
like sugar-coated popsters.
Songs easily pass seven minutes with little change from start to finish. "About
These Nights" is nearly identical while field recordings of birds are in
the distance. It's also a tune Ry Cooder would've lapped up circa Paris, Texas.
"Fake Off" is a hair faster and wiry, featuring a roots-cum-jazz arrangement.
If you have a short attention span, this album isnt for you.
"He" returns to a nearly eight-minute mountain folk ditty with dobro
and other traditional instruments used. Often, though, the noodling on the album
is nothing spectacular or even remotely innovative! The record gets tiring during
"Hello" which is a poor man's Shrimp Boat with a pinch of electric guitar.
By the time you hit "You Told Me" you could be asleep, which is not
a compliment in this instance.
— Jason MacNeil
Album: All My Senses Are Senseless Today
Label: Zahr records
Released: 2004
