By: Dave Allan Guzda
10 Waves of You | website | facebook | twitter | bandcamp |
Released on May 15, 2015 via Bandcamp
10 Waves of You is the solo work of Luca Crivellaro who plays guitar, bass, keyboards, piano, synths, sings and does percussion – phew. His debut release entitled Fields of Venus is wholly his creation and he wanted the recording to be “primal, without filters or contamination from anybody else. If you listen to Fields of Venus you listen to me.”
The album is an incredible do-it-yourself labour of love that pulsates with lush enchanting melody and magnetic creativity. Every listen to Fields of Venus yields something exceptional from within its seductive musical strata. Post-Rock can be taken in many directions, Luca capably pulls it into the ambient/experimental realm and the results are largely captivating.
The seven song album begins with the Power of the Dark Side. Yes, song one is entitled “Darth Vader”. With a song title of a well known (cult-like?) character you are probably playing with fire. Luca however pulls off an impressive Jedi musician trick with the track. It opens with distressed celestial synth that you might expect to hear in a Sci-Fi Thriller. The track intensifies slowly with gentle waves of soft guitar and warm whiffs of synth. But it’s Darth Vader right? Midway the track becomes coloured by increasingly darker tones of guitar then bam! a huge barrage of fuzzy noise drops. In context it seems brash and heavy, almost menacing. Lord Vader would be pleased. Throughout Fields Luca makes a concerted effort to balance his vibrant atmospheres with harmonic post-rock with tremendous success.
The majority of the tracks are instrumental and certainly where I found 10 Waves of You shines the brightest. There are however two curious tracks with vocals. Luca sings on “Underground Water” with a fairly monotone delivery which is understated and subtle but still seems to compete with the soaring tonal creativity trying to emerge behind it. The spaced-out vocals in “First Lights from Venus” however lost me as they felt fabricated and awkward. The delicate piano and catchy bassline I liked, but they can’t make up for the vocal oddity. This is the only track I’d still consider skipping. These minor miss steps aside the rest of the album returns to a much more alluring form.
Luca dazzles with two solid post-rock gems with “Off Road” and “Rays of Kid”. “Off Road” has a wonderful groove which thrusts forward with snappy up tempo percussion and fantastic discordant atmospherics. It’s a killer track. Equally impressive is “Rays of Kid” with its plucky guitar and lovely piano melody which combine to be utterly captivating. “Rays” has an enchanting vibe as it magically shuffles about its interstellar ambient expanses. Lastly I have to mention “Clouds” because of its beautiful atmospheric depth. It is the glorious ambient star on the trip through Fields of Venus and it still manages to punch out a monstrous buzzing riff. Again, Luca achieves balance shifting the track into mellower synth and piano. The layers of sound by 10 Waves of You evolve constantly. This is an album with an immense amount to absorb that is both musically poignant and emotionally uplifting.
Fields of Venus may hit an occasional subspace anomaly but the album is an overwhelmingly incredible experience and a sonic voyage I highly recommend. Luca’s manipulation of tonal elements both dramatic and subtle consume the listener throughout this impassioned ambient/post-rock release. Treat yourself to this stellar recording here.
