De Rosa
Mend

Don't ask for too much, don't always expect the moon.
Put it on, let it spin.
Not bad, right?
I was longing for songs: a fast but not too fast ride, colors and voices that spin and combine, changing angles, spreading melodic phrases wrapped in shimmering sounds.
Well, here we are, don’t you think?
Ok, too many names come to mind, some older, others recent, attempting a full list by glancing at the endless list of groups and musicians that appear under Influences in their MySpace profile, you'd surely pick a few, if you enjoy the game.
But in this case, it seems pointless to me.
Sure, you can classify them with the band of young ones enamored with new wave, which already has its third (or fourth?) lines. But in their case, I didn’t experience the same annoying sense of rigid cloning that turned me away from others, blessed with greater fortunes.
These four Scottish guys (two guitars, bass, drums, and percussion, with the addition of keyboards, melodica, and a mandolin) release an album that's entirely their own work even if filled with echoes of things they love.
However, they show a compositional vein that can’t be picked up just anywhere, particularly effective at merging jittery rhythms with melodic lines that immediately get into action, also avoiding turning the quieter episodes into mushy filler.
The result is a varied and compact, commendable work, considering it's a debut.

What’s that?
There are too many new bands, too many records coming out, to pay attention to one like this?
Well, you’re probably right. But I’d give this one a small chance.
It flows, doesn't it?
It evokes spring, sparkling and changeable, a bit jittery but fun.
Of course, it’s not one of the records for your fateful 2006 playlist.
But it will spin more than once in your player, I noticed you were already humming "Cathkin Braes" after a few minutes…

In short, don’t ask for too much, don’t always expect the moon.
And don’t expect samples this time.
You can listen to all the songs here.
Oh, they're opening for Mogwai, on September 6th in Bologna and the 7th in Rome.
If you go, let me know how they perform on stage.