Unusual Architecture – Backwards (Album – Wave Records)
Genre/Influences: Electro-Wave.
Format: Digital, CD.
Background/Info: Unusual Architecture is an Italian duo active since 2019 and featuring two members from the 80s formation Intelligence Dept. Singer Susanna Zaghi and composer Davide Carlotti achieved eight songs.
Content: The global atmosphere and influences running through this work is constantly bringing us back to the 80s. You can hear it in the global spirit of the songs but also in more explicit aspects like snares, electronic sound treatments and saxophone.
+ + + : The vintage sound approach and writing evoke good-old souvenirs. I like the coldness running through “Satellite” with Susanna’s sharp timbre of voice on top. Another attention grabber is the faster and pure Electro/Wave-Pop sounding “Slowly Dies”. The saxophone sounds great at “Second Chance”.
– – – : I’ve some mixed feelings listening to this work. Next to the aforementioned cool songs I also notice other songs suffering from a lack of elaboration. The title song is one among them.
Conclusion: I can’t affirm to have been totally convinced by Unusual Architecture’s debut but it might be worthy of examination for 80s nostalgics.
Best songs: “Slowly Dies”, “Satellite”.
Rate: 6½.
Artist: www.facebook.com/UnusualArchitectureBand
Label: www.waverecordsmusic.com / www.facebook.com/waverecords
About Unusual Architecture
Unusual Architecture is an Italian electro-wave duo formed in 2019 by singer Susanna Zaghi and composer Davide Carlotti, both listed by Discogs as its members. The pair previously played together in the 1980s formation Intelligence Dept.
The duo mixes cold synth arrangements, dry drum machine snares and saxophone with vocals delivered in a sharp, detached timbre. Their reference points are drawn openly from 1980s wave and electro-pop production.
“Backwards”, the duo’s eight-track debut album reviewed here, was released by Wave Records in digital and CD formats.
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