Valentino Vivace – Autoradio
A declaration of love to analogue synthesisers of the 80s and flashing Italo disco lights. Retro pop for a good mood.
Valentino Vivace, who grew up in the Italian-speaking Ticino, the sunny region of Switzerland, is not easily pigeonholed. The previous singles—L'equilibrio and Come mai—are of a completely different calibre. L'equilibrio is characterised by expanding expanses, slightly psychedelic and wacky. Come mai, on the other hand, is driven by an irresistible indie groove. Vivace takes inspiration here and there, throws it all together, shakes it hard and what comes out in the end works.
With Autoradio, Valentino Vivace now throws a third track into the ring that again breaks with the previous. The song is hot and sticky, like a summer night danced through, refined with Italo-disco nostalgia and a catchy melody. This picture-book pop serves "as a backdrop to tell of those moments when everything supposedly goes wrong, and you urgently need to clear your head," as Vivace explains. And there's no question about it: Autoradio definitely has this cathartic power.
Brooke Annibale – What if You
The subjunctive is heartbreaking; it hurts and puts you in loneliness. But, accompanied by a dense composition, it also has bittersweet beauty.
US singer-songwriter Brooke Annibale recently released her fourth album, Better by Now. Ten tender and perfectly balanced songs full of vulnerability, fear, but also love. "The album is half about falling in love and half about mental health," says the artist, who struggles with depression but has just married her partner.
