Midwest
Town And Country

An acoustic string plucked sounds very folk, Stefano used to tell me at university. 'Then it must be folk,' I thought as the first notes of Midwest hit my headphones. Then the sound of a banjo arrived: it erased any doubt I had. And since folk isn't exactly what intrigues me the most, I was about to leave the Fnac Listening Point.

However (I wasn't in a hurry), I continued listening properly, intrigued by the Homesleep label, which has given me plenty of joys (especially Yuppie Flu), and the positive reviews read about this Town And Country, which for a group of twenty-somethings from Varese, evoke names like Rex, Califone, and – well – Sparklehorse.

I soon found myself, amidst the bustling spending chaos of Saturday afternoon, with closed eyes and completely immersed in a pleasant soundscape with soft and whispered colors. 'A lot of personality,' I thought while listening to the sweet and cruel tale narrated with a strange slick progress by Red Cheek; increasingly intrigued, I let myself be captivated by the simple and intense slowness of In Your Life. And then I fell completely in love when Ripple And Rise surprised me with its old-fashioned patina, the bizarre and soft cymbal carpet, the dreamy melodies, and that voice, so light, slender and dirty. Twenty-somethings, as mentioned: if they get better with age, it will be wonderful.

In the end, I left the Listening Point, but headed decisively toward the checkout, with a CD in hand and a smile on my face, proud to have found another little gem to quench my thirst for beautiful music.