Hot Gossip : 'You look faster when you are young'
Released: Out Now!!!
Label: Ghostly Records
Not too often do you scale across the genre ‘rock’ and encounter an Italian band from the backstreets of Milan with influences of punk.
…Well I have! (obviously).
The band’s second album You look faster when you are young is full of youthful exuberance and at times back to basics rock and roll, which is ultimately refreshing in this age of synthed and repetitive tracks and where every band uses a keyboard to pretty poor use.
Instantly recognisable in this album is a likeness to new wave bands such as The Rakes and the start of the track 'At night' has a similarity to a couple songs from The Subways’ latest album.
Opener 'Everybody else' has an obvious catchy sound about it and also lyrically is easy to remember and replicate the words. "Boys get drunk, boys should jump, boys should go out with her" is the bullet point-like bellow from lead singer Giulio Calvino on seemingly his take on how to be a successful ‘dude’.
Not too dissimilar to mine Giulio, but just edit the last point to ‘getting slapped by a girl for the 3rd time’.
Perhaps the best produced track on the record is 'Fast in the Rain', with its fast and edgy approach, almost what you would hear from an early Bloc Party session from their Silent Alarm era. Pacey bass guitar work from Sergio ensures that the middle part of the track is kept alive and is thoroughly enjoyable to listen to.
The most staggering thing maybe from this album is the ‘im sure I recognise this tooting from somewhere before' feeling it instigates. The particular reference is to the following track 'Call the Rangers'. Half a minute in and whistling occurs in the background after, something you’d maybe hear from an old ‘Bn Bn’(remember them?!) advert. A catchy, if though slightly irritating piece of music.
The penultimate track is the punkiest. Aptly named 'Days of the week', the band take us through a chronological sequence of events involving a lonely bed-less person who got married a day after meeting someone, only to finish it on the following Monday and blow all his cash away.
Las Vegas come to mind anyone…
All in all, this album is certainly a pleasurable listen and although nothing within it is groundbreaking, it’s neat, tidy and sometimes sly percussion work should give listeners something to tap their feet to.
Words: Sean Wright
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