Polychron+ – She’s Always Been There (Album – Totem Taboo)
Genre/Influences: Gothic, Cinematographic, Electro, Pop.
Format: Digital, CD.
Background/Info: This is the debut album by Polychron+, an Italian duo driven by Aurelio Menichi and producer Gabriele Gai. For their debut album they asked an impressive list of guest singers and guest musicians as well to join in the production. The most familiar names are Blaine R. Reininger (Tuxedomoon), Anna Domino, Luc Van Lieshout (Tuxedomoon) and Alex Spalck (Pankow).
Content: There’s an impressive list of guests who all added a very personal touch to the work. They played different instruments like guitar, cello, trumpet, flute, trombone, violin, piano ao. It creates a true sonic mishmash, covering different influences from Gothic to Pop to Cinematographic to Dub. Some songs have been carried by slow rhythms.
+ + + : Polychron+ achieved a tour de force, bringing all those different artists together. They each inject an own touch to the work. The common element between all the songs is the delicacy of the composition. I especially recommend “Lighter Than The Blue” featuring Blaine R. Reininger singing and playing violin. Another attention grabber is the sensual sounding “Alaska Drive” featuring vocals by NicoNote. A last track I recommend is the
Dubby sounding “Gum, Le Blue Jar” featuring trumpet play by Massimiliano Breschi. Last, but not least I also want to say a word about the artistic digipak.
– – – : I quickly got the sensation of listening to a compilation, which in a way is a bit true.
Conclusion: “She’s Always Been There” is an ambitious album, which I enjoyed for its diversity and some of its guests.
Best songs: “Lighter Than The Blue”, “Alaska Drive”, “Gum, Le Blue Jar”, “Yeh-The”.
Rate: 7.
Artist: www.facebook.com/Flebolab
About Polychron+
Polychron+ is the electro-acoustic project of the Italian producers and multi-instrumentalists Aurelio Menichi and Gabriele Gai. The duo describes the project as a collaborative format built around invited singers and instrumentalists.
The debut album “She’s Always Been There” appeared in 2021 on Totem Taboo as a CD and in digital format. Its guest list includes Anna Domino, Blaine R. Reininger and Luc Van Lieshout of Tuxedomoon, Alex Spalck of Pankow, NicoNote, Carmen D’Onofrio and Daniele Biagini. A second album, “Summer Fun”, followed in 2025 as a limited CD on the label 13.
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