Breathless
Green to Blue

LA RECENSIONE

It is incredible how, sometimes, in a particular music scene some bands overshadow others which might have created that very scene, and it's amazing to see how this phenomenon mainly occurs with bands from the '80s. This is certainly the case with the Breathless, a London band much more famous here in Italy than in their homeland or, for example, in America. If you dig deep into the roots of the so-called Dream Pop, the name Breathless rarely comes up, yet they've been playing for over thirty years now and with their latest album from 2012 (released once again on their label Tenor Vossa) Green To Blue they returned to the scene after a 9-year absence.

Despite the music of Breathless having transformed quite a bit over the decades towards an increasingly ethereal and clean style, Green To Blue retains that wonderful aura of New Wave that characterized their very first records, filled as they were with heavy guitars and frantic rhythms (Chasing Promises). In this regard, the opening track Please be happy clarifies the transformation of almost thirty-five years of career and charts new paths in a more precise and methodical manner. Languid, melancholic, and extremely solemn melodies accompany Appleton's wonderful soft 'S', alternating tracks from ethereal atmospheres with ones composed of impenetrable walls of sound (Next Time You Fall) but always marked by a deep sweetness. With this new spirit, Breathless gives us 11 tracks for a double album (it seems the contribution of 4AD's boss Russell was crucial for the inclusion of some tracks that the band wanted to discard) which holds within it true gems like I Want You To Realise with a vaguely Jazz rhythm that I consider one of the album's peaks with a rare sense of melancholy, both for past and present bands. Not lacking (as with Blue Moon) are the long compositions where Breathless fully display their love for extended timings, as in the case of Walk Away where the band's power shines through a wonderful interplay between Dominic's sweet voice and the power of a snare drum and an incredibly distorted guitar. What is astonishing about this Green To Blue is precisely, at times, a clear contrast between violence and ethereal sounds that alternate even within the same track. Surely a sensational comeback and yet another confirmation from Breathless, who deserve much more attention from the audience (especially the younger ones) and from the critics, who might stir these torpid waters clouded by these insipid bands like Cigarette After Sex and might also consider the idea of reissuing some of their albums, considering that, apart from Blue Moon, none of their works have been reissued to this day...