Labels: Adagio830 – Brown Town – Sleep City
Review by: Oli Saunders
You may be aware that in recent times Adorno have become fucking amazing. I must admit that I am not a fan of their early output, but then not long back and seemingly out of nowhere they released the fantastic Said And Unsaid 7”, which Chaz reviewed on Collective a month or two back. Via this along with two songs on a split with Sugartown Cabaret they have quickly become one of my favourite active emo bands. Their sound is so beautiful, with the melodic instruments creating a perfect backdrop for heartfelt sung vocals. It’s these that really get your attention as you listen.
On this new split Adorno contribute one song and it’s as special as any of their others. Most importantly, all three of their recent releases show reasonable variance in the sound. The songs on the SC split are much slower and mellower than the Said And Unsaid 7”, whilst this one is on the opposite end of the spectrum, being pretty grooving and flat out. It stops and starts in a few places but keeps its high tempo throughout. The style overall reminds me a little of Ciudad Del Cabo and even more so of 12XU. If you are into this sort of emo then quite simply you need to check these guys out right away.
Eric Ayotte plays on the other side, a chap from the US playing acoustic folk who I’ve not heard of before. Someone helps him with backing vocals, it might be Eric himself actually now that I listen more carefully. I am quite narrow minded when it comes to folk but I do enjoy this. It’s personal stuff but seems relatively upbeat compared to what I normally listen to. He plays two songs that flow well and the guitar and his vocals sound good. A nice solid bit of music but at the end of it all this split is all about Adorno for me.
Overall a nicely put together package, I like the colourful messy artwork too. The pair are currently on tour around Europe so check them out if you can.
22nd July 2010