Motel Connection
H.E.R.O.I.N

As a good Turin native, I've always felt proud whenever one of the various local bands produced a new little musical gem that effectively made my city (or almost my city since I'm a filthy provincial) a stronghold of underground and independent music.

And, again as a good Turin native, I've always been interested when a member of one of these countless bands would produce or collaborate on solo projects and/or side-projects (if you're wondering: yes, to my misfortune I've also heard "AntiAnti" by Dade from Linea 77 and "Caesar Palace" also by Dade in collaboration, alas, with Boosta from SubsOnicA) often discovering really well-done things, like LNRipley by Ninja from SubsOnicA or like the record I'm about to review for you.

But first, a bit of history!

The Motel Connection were born in 2001 from the encounter between subsonics Samuel and Pierfunk (at the time bassist of the Turin group, now replaced by Vicio) with the DJ and producer Pisti.

From this collaboration, four albums were born (two LPs and two soundtracks for "Santa Maradona" and "A+R: Andata e Ritorno") that achieved quite a high success even though they weren't exceptional records.

And now let's move on to the actual review of the album:

"H.E.R.O.I.N" (acronym for "Human Environmental Return of Output/Input Network") is an album on the edge between dance music and acoustic rock, very enjoyable, without too many pretensions and decidedly less pretentious and inflated compared to its predecessors; which in my opinion makes it the best album produced by the trio.

Let's start with the cover and packaging: an unspecified animal with a beak (probably a swan) composed of textures of various kinds and colors prominently appears on the cover against a white background, in the top left corner a small salmon pink rectangle tells us who and what we are about to listen to; the rest of the packaging follows the chromatic lines of the cover, adding a photo of the trio in the booklet and on the disc a drawing very similar to the cover but which, in this case, depicts an unspecified bird (probably a pigeon). Simple and immediately effective.

The album opens with the most intense and electronic track of the ten that the group offers us: "Automatic" demonstrating that they have maintained their classic formula: electronic bases and programming, very modulated electric bass, slightly affected vocals, and very poppy choruses that, however, do not spoil.

The second track is "Uppercut" whose intro might confuse you compared to my review, you will find yourself saying: "What the heck is he talking about? Dance music and acoustic rock? But if it's techno exactly like the previous one???" Then a very pleasant acoustic guitar comes in along with a little chorus that strongly reminds of what the Klaxons offered us in "Golden Skans" (the L'Oréal song, for those unfamiliar with the English quartet). A great formula to rejuvenate and lighten the ideas presented in previous works, perhaps a bit too trendy but nonetheless functional and suitable.

Following closely is "I Would Prefer Not" a song that repeats what was heard in the first two tracks: trying to make sense of what the Motel Connection have been, removing that vain-glorious mask by inserting a catchy chorus.

"Shadows And Fire" is my favorite track, the guitar mingles with the electronic drums and a really "catchy" keyboard; the refrain is always very carefree and cheerful like almost the entire album.

The entire album except for the super-melancholic "All Right" an acoustic ballad enriched by percussions and keyboard loops. Really great to break the monotony and signal that we are already past the middle of the album.

The next track, "Fill Me Away", follows the theory told in"Uppercut" with a slightly more experimental approach; without exaggerating and remaining on the non-binding side.

The last part of the album is opened by the title track "H.E.R.O.I.N." which in the intro slightly reminds "Music" by Madonna, nice track; the continuity of the album is confirmed even in this track.

The third-to-last track is a remix of "Boy And Girl" their piece from a few years ago, a great dancefloor track perhaps the only track that doesn't follow the line of the album (especially for that "house music all night long" which is repeated for much of the track).

The ninth track is "Sun" another slightly slow piece but less melancholic than "All Right", it seems perfect for a sunset on a happy and carefree day. Great the keyboard, electronic drums, and claps breakdown useful to divide and distinguish one verse from another.

The last track is "Heal", here the group allows themselves slightly more than they actually could while not clashing and definitely hitting the target.

In summary: A decidedly pleasant and overall cheerful album, with a cover of strong impact and that does not require effort from the listener. Great to put in the car and let it play endlessly.