.--"~‘ :21. 7; ITALO DISCO REVIVAL-
HEARTBREAK
Supporting The Presets at the Classic Grand, Glasgow, Wed 5 Nov; Liquid Room, Edinburgh, Thu 6 Nov
Stuck between two separate camps of zeitgeistgrabbing greatness. [East London based duo Heartbreak are both flag-bearers for the much name-dropped ltalo disco revrval. and also affiliates of the ever-high duality scene based around Australia's Modular Records. They'll be playing wrth the label‘s Presets here. and are on their way around America in the company of both The Presets and Cut Copy when we catch them on the phone.
‘I think a lot of people have been writing the word ‘ltalo' in magazines for three or four years now.’ says Chester-raised producer Ali Renault on the resurgence of a previoosly 80s-b0und style of European disco. which he has a trainspotter's love- for. 'People's curiosity is now getting the better of them, they're digging out a few records and gorng to the clubs. deciding if they like the sound or they don't. its perfect timing for us. really. although there is a danger that things might all go a or 'new rave'.‘
Singer Sebastian Muravchix — whom Renault met on the set of a soap opera they were both working on in Muravchix's native Argentina — handily shares an affection for the ltalo sound. His austere and sometimes over-dramatiserl vocals are the most contentious part of a sound that places itself somewhere between Giorgio Moroder and the Scissor Sisters. though. and they come from an unlikely place. ‘It's Ozzy Osbourne in his Black Sabbath days.‘ says Renault. 'Seba's a big fan.‘ Now. surely a combination like that is worth its very own scene? iDavrd Pollock-
‘---I-‘ :5 l or k hock FLEET FOXES ABC, Glasgow, Sat 8 Nov
While music with a sense of the rustic American has been back on the menu of late (what with the rise of Band of Horses and Bon Iver) Seattle’s Fleet Foxes raise the game even further. Their music is a chiming approximation of the 605’ best country rock exponents, from The Byrds to Buffalo Springfield, while also striking enough contemporary chords to potentially enjoy huge crossover appeal.
The Foxes’ biggest radio hit so far has been the quite gorgeous ‘White Winter Hymnal’, which managed to pull off the singular trick of getting Radio 1’s daytime DJs excited without sounding like yet another lame-brained Razorlight knock off. That it sounds not just like the best song Rufus Wainwright never released but better than most songs he has issued is deserved praise, while there are also hints of Devendra Banhart and The Beach Boys’ expansive, echoing production in there.
The rest of the Sub Pop/Bella Union signees’ self- titled debut album follows a similar path, although there’s a diversity to both their big, ploughing rockers and their most charming acoustic strumalongs that identifies singer and guitarist Robin Pecknold as a songwriter of real note. He doesn’t go for the easy pop hook so much as an expansive succession of multi-layered verses that build up a real sense of atmospheric and storytelling ability. It’s easy, in retrospect, to see why the Guardian called the record ‘a landmark in American music, an instant classic’ and commentators are lining up to compare them to the best their country has had to offer in the last half- century. (David Pollock)
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