Starting out as commissioned music for an audio weblog, Sandro Perri and Craig Dunsmuir’s studio project, Glissandro 70, has put together a unique album that blends many styles and influences. Although chiefly taking from prime Detroit techno and post-punk New York, they combine these well mined sound sources with a worldly edge by including dub, Latin and African elements.
On paper, this sounds like just another retro band but Glissandro 70 are more than that. They have recycled hackneyed ideas and put together a wonderful collage of sounds that feels like something new.
The majority of songs on the album consist of short musical phrases,normally a cheery guitar line in an odd meter, accompanied by layers ofrepeated vocals. This could get boring quite quickly but most of thetime Glissandro 70 keep it far within the realms of enjoyable. “BolanMuppets” is a beautiful piece; it sounds exactly like the best summervacation with a loved one. It’s followed by “Portugal Rua Rua,” whichis the one track where the duo stumbles but only for the first coupleof minutes. Once the slightly annoying vocal loop that starts the songfades out and the wah guitar kicks in (followed by a nice chant liftinglyrics from Model 500’s “No UFOs”), the song falls into place.
With only five tracks, it seems like I’ve only hit play when the album is spinning down. At just over 35 minutes, I wonder have Perri and Dunsmuir deliberately kept it short to give maximum impact to the material. I hope there is more as in this age of the 80 minute album, this feels like more like an EP than an album. Of course, this could be an example of an artist showing some restraint in making an album as they want it, as opposed to filling a disc to bursting point.
One thing that I question though is Constellation’s decision to release this album in March. Glissandro 70 is a summer album to my ears. This is somethingthat I’m sure to spin more in July than I have been over the last fewweeks. There’s something depressing about listening to a track like“Analogue Shantytown” while it pisses rain and freezes brass balls offa monkey outside.
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