Labels: Life on an Island
Review by: Edward Ling
First solo release by Alex Gentile of For Serious This Time, this is a more sparse, minimalist offering than the later release Classics “” but has the same quirky lyrical hooks, same sharp edges here and there (“home is where the staple in your stomach is”, Polluted), and same stylised distorted sound.
Initially you’re not sure if there are actually two vocalists there is so much echo / reverb going on – but there’s basically just one guy, his guitar and an editing suite. There is the odd sample here and there, and keyboards and a female vocalist worked in for one track (Sheetrock), and these add extra layers to this mix of original songs and diverse covers. The covers include Joan Armatrading (The weakness in me), Meatloaf (For cryin’ out loud “” actually done really well) – and the album closes with an oddly lovely acoustic cover of Operation Ivy’s Jaded.
I honestly never thought I’d use the adjective “lovely” to describe anything out of the Lars Frederiksen kennel “” but there you go. Testament perhaps to the path this guy has taken to end up at a lo-fi destination. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but there is also poignancy and emotional honesty here reminiscent of the 80s Billy Bragg at his poetic best “” think St Swithin’s Day or Saturday Boy. This may just be because they are both rooted in punk . Don’t know.
Hand crafted and intimate but not scared of technology, these are melancholy but redemptive songs for a small room. All in all, one for the early hours of the morning. When you’ve had way too much coffee.