Recommended by us on 11th November 2011
...according to our Business Lady on Wed 09 Nov, 2011.
A Classic Education hit us up with their debut after a slew of well received EPs and singles. 'Call It Blazing' sees the Bologna four-piece relocate to Brooklyn, NY to record with acclaimed producer Jarvis Taveniere (Woods, Vivian Girls, Real Estate, Widowspeak, Ganglians). The results are as you'd expect, classic indie-rock songwriting with that Woods-esque echo heavy '50s style production. Taveniere's approach genuinely suits the style of group with the resulting record sounding as contemporary as it does timeless. If you've made any time in your music listening schedule to enjoy the fresh crop of blissed out indie rock bands doing the rounds lately (Ganglians, Vivian Girls, Spectrals, etc) then you'll find things on 'Call It Blazing' that will impress. The addition of unconventional rock instruments such as the theremin and violin really mix things up and it's obvious from the warmth of the recording that this one's been committed to tape not computer. Really digging the sleeve art too. Great hand painted images romanticising biker gangs, outlaw-isms and the by-gone age of youth culture. Wish I was in a biker gang.
* A Classic Education combine the muscle of Loaded-era Velvet Underground with the sincerity of Roy Orbison and the chiming guitars of the Go-Betweens, Johnny Marr and The Verlaines to create a sound that is compelling and truly unlike anyone else.
* Canadian-born Jonathan Clancy and the gang of Luca Mazzieri, Paul Pieretto, Giulia Mazza and Federico Oppi decided to come to the US to record Call It Blazing in Brooklyn, NY at Rear House with Jarvis Taveniere (Woods, Vivian Girls, Real Estate, Widowspeak, Ganglians) at the helm. Tavienere and the band crafted the album’s unique sound by using a classic method: tracking all the musicians together in an old kitchen with a wooden floor and sending the results to analog tape, later adding layers of organ, theremin and violin. Closing song Night Owl was recorded in Philadelphia during Weathervane's acclaimed Shaking Through sessions by Brian McTear and Jon Low.
* Call It Blazing is the band's full-length debut, coming on the heels of a string of acclaimed EPs and singles that have brought A Classic Education around the world numerous times to play with like-minded bands Wolf Parade, Real Estate, Crystal Stilts, The Fresh & Onlys, British Sea Power and Arcade Fire and important festivals such as Primavera Sound, SXSW, Indietracks and CMJ. One critic remarked "They look like European punks from an early Pedro Almodovar film and sound like a mix of Galaxie 500, The Shins and a hint of 50s rock n roll. Good stuff."
*While Call It Blazing is A Classic Education's first proper LP, it is instantly recognizable as part of the great tradition of early rock and roll – an album full of stories, character and time. The band wrote the record in their hometown of Bologna, Italy, soaking in the vintage photography of Danny Lyon, Diane Arbus, Wlliam Gedney and Mario Giacomelli – fever dreams of bikers, roads and dirt, the Chicago Outlaws, and the leather-clad city kids of long-gone yesterdays. The juxtaposition of these grainy images and Bologna’s medieval streets and red-tiled roofs created Call It Blazing – a thoroughly modern take on forgotten-era pop music that marries dreamy guitars, shimmering sixties melodies, jangly post-punk and early stage rock'n'roll anthems, all with an unmistakable European pop sensibility. These are 12 songs that explore a sense of mischief, disenchantment, escapism and desire to not comply to any given set of rules or laws – ideas that are as modern as they are timeless.
1. Work It Out 2. Baby, It's Fine 3. Grave Bird 4. Gone To Sea 5. Billy's Gang Dream 6. Spin Me Round 7. Forever Boy 8. Can You Feel The Backwash 9. Terrible Day 10. I Lost Time 11. Night Owl
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