Stella Diana – Nothing To Expect (Album – Vipchoyo Sound Factory / A State Of Flux Records)
Genre/Influences: Shoegaze, Dream-Pop, Dark-Wave.
Format: Digital, CD.
Background/Info: Italian formation Stella Diana has been active since 1998. They’ve already released several works and now strikes back with nine new songs.
Content: The sound universe of this formation is getting us back to the 80s Dream-Pop and Shoegaze universe. Dreamy, evasive guitar playing are leading the listeners into a dark, dreamy vision which is accompanied by the dark, sensual vocals.
+ + + : The work brings no innovation nor surprise but it’s a fascinating experience in sound. It smells like the good-old 80s and has been delicately built up. I like the sphere created by the typical guitar playing and accentuated by the slow, dark bass lines. The vocals have a dreamy, wafting effect.
– – – : Stella Diana sounds like a lot of other bands in the genre but who cares when the result is that efficient.
Conclusion: This album stands for nostalgia reminding us of the magic of the 80s.
Best songs: “DZM”, “Beleth”, “Matthew”.
Rate: 7½.
Artist: www.stelladiana.com / www.facebook.com/StellaDianaBand
Labels: www.vipchoyo.it / www.facebook.com/vipchoyo
“Nothing To Expect” was released on 22 February 2022 through Vipchoyo Sound Factory and A State Of Flux Records. It was recorded in December 2021 and January 2022 at home and at the band’s own studio, recorded and mixed by Giacomo Salzano, produced by Stella Diana and mastered by Marco Morgione at Micromaltese Studio in Barcelona. The single “Sleepless Girl” preceded it.
Listen to “Nothing To Expect”:
About Stella Diana
Stella Diana formed in 1998 in Naples, in southern Italy, around Dario Torre on vocals and guitar and Giacomo Salzano on bass, with Giulio Grasso on drums. The band works a mix of shoegaze, dream-pop, new wave and dark post-punk, and Salzano doubles as the group’s engineer.
“Nothing To Expect” is the album under review here. Sessions ran through December 2021 and January 2022, split between home recording and the band’s studio, and the record went out on 22 February 2022 on Vipchoyo Sound Factory and A State Of Flux Records. Side-Line named the band among the Italian shoegaze acts listed in Italian shoegazers act In Her Eye announce new album ‘Change’.
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