Ofeliadorme - Sometimes It's Better To Wait [EP]

Self Released

September 8, 2009, 04:19 PM

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Well this came as something of a pleasant surprise. Italy's Ofeliadorme have released their debut EP "Sometimes It's Better To Wait" on their own label and have very much let the music do the talking. This is darkly tinged acoustica informed very clearly by the aesthetics of post-rock and electronica. The result is almost like a cross between Mazzy Star, Portishead and Bat For Lashes, in short it's gorgeous, sultry, sexy and more than a little dark.

The constant, hushed and haunted mood that permeates throughout "Sometimes It's Better To Wait" will be familiar to anyone who has spent time with Cat Powers "Moon Pix" album or Mazzy Stars "So Tonight That I Might See" and it's this prevalent mood that initially struck me. The music isn't particularly engaging or inventive (at least at first) but it's played in such a loose manner, it almost sounds like the band are asleep and I mean that as a beaming compliment. Singer Francesca Bono's beautifully understated vocals are the centre-piece of the collection and are definitely the bands USP. She may not be the first to sing in such a way or to use such richly cryptic imagery in her words but it's a style that perfectly suits the bleak, mysterious tone of the music. That's not to say the rest of the band don't contribute to the overall sound of the record, it's just that Francesca stands out, as I'm sure was their intention.

Opener 'To Wait' is something of a red herring with it's relatively optimistic tone (compared with what is to follow) and easy, flowing melodies. It would not sound out of place on an album by any number of mainstream singer-songwriters (though this would easily settle at the more esoteric end of their spectrum). It's smooth chorus, relaxed groove and swift 3/4 time signature earmark it as the closest thing Ofeliadorme have to a potential single.

"There is a girl she is lying on the floor, and she's not breathing", is how the next track 'New Pieces Of Science' begins and true to form it's a harrowing and sparse piece of introspective navel-gazing. The military drums and rather striking samples of ghostly laughter that pierce through the mix should be off-putting but seem to balance out the songs grim intentions quite well, it adds another layer of dust to an already pretty dusty tune. '6:17pm' balances the set nicely with it's jazzy guitar lines and broken waltz rhythm, it's the weakest song here but it's tense, drunken haze acts as a welcome relief, it's like what would happen if Tom Waits had a sex change and took a few dozen sleeping pills.

The uber minimalism of 'Bells' and it's defiant melancholy ("your not gonna crack my little soul") brings to mind the absorbing beauty of slow-core legends Low (one of the greatest bands of all time in my opinion) and the creepy, menacing final couplet of 'This World' and 'Ballad Of The Bitter End' seal the coffin with a faintly disturbing sense of calm.

Overall I was pleasantly surprised by the whole package, the name and artwork left me no clues as to what I was about to discover but I'm glad I took the journey. If you have the night to yourself, a few scented candles and a broken heart, you could do far worse.

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