|
Please choose artist:
| BLAKE/E/E/E |
| FRANKLIN DELANO |
| DIANE IZZO |
|
FRANKLIN DELANO
Every American born after the 1970’s has ADHD. Franklin Delano is the Ritalin for a hyper nation. Their all natural ingredients and zodiac textures are like art therapy for the criminally insane. Not just another bunch of godless Europeans, Franklin Delano will deconstruct everything we know about music and build a radical utopia, a land so strange we will need the assistance of Sherpas to make it back down the mountain. Check out their website or myspace page. Launch the
player if you want to hear more.
Biography:
Based out of Bologna, Italy, Franklin Delano is led by Paolo Iocca and Marcella Riccardi and is influenced by the recent post-folk scene raised from the ashes of Red Red Meat. In 2003 they recorded their first demo, soon to be released on Zahr Records in early 2004 as “All my Senses are Senseless Today.” A mixture of slow paced folk-rock, arranged with a dark Slint-style mood, the album created excitement among the Italian press. Perishable Records, based out of Chicago, IL, distributed the records through their online store.
At the end of 2004, the core of Franklin Delano was comprised of trio Iocca, Riccardi and Vittoria Burattini on drums (hailing from the legendary Italian cult band Massimo Volume that broke up a few years earlier). Franklin Delano’s second effort, “Like a Smoking Gun in Front of Me” (2005) marked an evolution in the group’s sound while remaining steeped in the dark, slow core style of their previous releases. The band took new influence from a variety of musical inputs, from psychedelics to alt-country. Produced at Clava Studios in Chicago by Brian Deck (former Red Red Meat and Califone member as well as producer for Modest Mouse, Ugly Casanova and Iron & Wine), the album includes musical contributions by Califone members Tim Rutili, Jim Becker and Ben Massarella. “Like a Smoking Gun” saw the band move onto Madcap Collective (Italy) and File-13 Records (Chicago, IL). Promoted and distributed throughout the United States, the album garnered praise from the local music press. Many Italian critics judged it to be among the year’s best records. Shortly after the release, Franklin Delano embarked on their first U.S. tour that won their fans and spread their name across the country. Soon after, the band underwent an internal shake-up, with Lucio Sagone (of Ronin) replacing Burattini on drums and Marcello Petruzzi (of Caboto) joining the band on bass.
By 2005, the lineup included Vittorio Demarin (of Father Murphy) on violin, piano and organ and Michele Sarti on percussion and glockenspiel. 2006 was an auspicious year for Franklin Delano: newly signed with Italy’s Ghost Records, the band flew to Chicago to record their third album “Come Home” with Brian Deck, at Engine and Soma music studios and to do their second US tour. The band is currently on tour with a restyled line-up of Paolo Iocca, Marcella Riccardi, Marcello Petruzzi and the return of Vittoria Burattini on drums with the new addition of Nicola Manzan on violin and electronics.
Discography:
ALBUMS 2004 - ALL MY SENSES ARE SENSELESS TODAY - Zahr Records
2005 - LIKE A SMOKING GUN IN FRONT OF ME - Madcap/File-13
2006 - COME HOME - Ghost Records
COMPILATION
2004 - Take Off - n VVAA_LOSING TODAY II
2005 - You'll Never Get - in VVAA_Songs For Another Place
2006 - I Know My Way - in VVAA_Rocksound
2007 - Adeus Maria Fulo - in VVAA_Jardim Eletrico
Press Quotes:
Better Propaganda:
“Franklin Delano has created a new and exciting view on American folk music. Textures blur with noise and haunting doubled voices emerge from a marsh of drones and reiterative guitars. On a solid foundation of drums and double bass is where improvisation explodes, lapsteel howls, and dueling male and female voices twist with interpretations of English words.”
Chicago Reader , Peter Margasak , music critic:
“On its second album, Like A Smoking Gun In Front Of Me (File 13), Italian indie-rock quartet Franklin Delano reveals a predilection for sluggish, druggy interpretations of Americana. A mix of lap steel, upright bass, and mandolin gives the album a glowing, leisurely tone, and though guitarist Paolo Iocca sings languidly, in a thin, brittle voice, his lines are nicely sweetened whenever Marcella Riccardi harmonizes.”
Delusions Of Adequacy , Tim Anderl, writer:
“This Italian four-piece may be one of the first in a series of post-folk, post-alt-country bands that we’ll see cropping up in the years ahead of us. When Neutral Milk Hotel and Wilco have lost their sheen, dudes with beards will be drawn to the improvised common ground between minimalistic music and controlled chaos. This is the crossroads where the Beachwood Sparks and Black Dice meet, which wouldn’t have seemed conceivable to me a few hours ago (i.e. before hearing this album).
Crafting drawn-out crescendos, hypnotic ambient drones, simple melodies, or harsh noise, the possibilities here seem limitless. Though I prefer vocalist Marcella Riccardi over her male counterpart, Paollo Iocca, his nasal baritone isn’t any more hateful than that of Stephen Malkumus. This record also happens to be in English, a plus for those of us whose Italian vocabularies are limited to “spaghetti” and “that’s a spicedy meatbol!”
As it stands, I predict Franklin Delano will meet one of two fates; either the band is destined to pioneer this new movement, or to become unsung, obscure heroes to those of us who happened to catch wind of this record. Either way, it's a damn memorable bunch.”
Lost At Sea, Peter Lindblad, writer:
“Rating: 8.5/10
I love music like this. It unfolds slowly, flowering like an orchid and revealing something new every time you listen to it. Perhaps it's something you don't want to see, like your own black heart and the shameful desires that make you blush a little at the thought of them. But it's important that you do see them.[...]
You could spend hours breaking down the parts of every song on Like A Smoking Gun In Front Of Me and wake up the next day and do it all again. There are conceits that trick you, leading you on paths with hardly any traffic. [...] ”
|