Melanie De Biasio
No Deal

Sometimes it happens that certain albums enter our lives suddenly, in the most unpredictable moments, quickly tying to specific emotions and creating a deep, timeless groove in the soul.

This is the case of "No Deal", an album by Mélanie De Biasio, a seductive Belgian singer who, from the cover (characterized by a "Blue Note" aesthetic), weaves careful Jazz textures with a deliberately rétro flavor.

Jazz, the core and intimate essence of the album, in its more melancholic and "dark" nature, is skillfully mixed with electronic hues that, several times, evoke the memory of the trip-hop of Portishead and their leader, the twilight Beth Gibbons.

The enveloping mood of the album cradles the listener sinuously, gently swaying them in its nocturnal frameworks defined by nostalgic and passionate moods, in an atmosphere that seems to come from a smoky American bar from the '30s. The seven tracks (which more appropriately should be considered as a single suite) dance in the air with supreme grace for the total 33 minutes (the short duration of the album is indeed the only negative aspect in this slow but rhythmic sonic Odyssey).

Right from the start (the short but extremely evocative "I Feel You"), the work, which makes elegance its primary characteristic, envelops the listener, immersing them in what could be the soundtrack for various Noirs from the '40s-'50s (especially those by Torneur and Aldrich).

Sometimes, the structure of the tracks is soaked in Blues ("No Deal" and "Sweet Darling Pain"), occasionally brushing against horror shores ("The Flow") and gently meandering into echoes with a dramatic flavor ("With Love" and "I’m Gonna Leave You"), where the piano by Pascal Mohy and the drums by Dré Pallemaerts stand out remarkably.

The final piece "With All My Love" is the apotheosis of that faint and waxy rarefaction from which everything started and to which everything, physiologically, returns.

I strongly recommend dedicating yourself to listening during the nighttime hours, in the dark, in complete solitude to grasp all the evocative nuances this masterpiece can offer, perhaps accompanying everything with a good cigar and a glass of Whiskey or Brandy.

Enjoy the nocturnal journey.