Sean Anderson - 3/31/2010
Pete Molinari is a relatively new artist to the scene, gaining popularity as he receives ever more mentions in sources such as music magazine 'Mojo', 'The Sunday Times' and numerous other newspapers. Of Maltese-Italian-Egyptian descent, but born in Kent, he represents the true nature of British diversity. However, he also engrossed himself in American music as a child and later visited New York, which reflects in his work as an interesting country style with a distinctive British twist.
The title track of the album, the acoustic 'Virtual Landslide' is oddly included as a bonus and is the same version that was earlier released as a single. It demonstrates well Molinari's vocal range with rigid pitch changes and assertive lyrics: 'Going down to Mississippi, I'm gonna ride that train, And if you don't come with me, I'll soon forget your name'. To me, Molinari's voice was instantly intriguing has a nasal quality and smacks of Bob Dylan, yet seems less harsh, and might not admittedly be to everyone's taste.
A more catchy track is the album's opener 'I Came Out of the Wilderness', which has a double beat, clanging simple guitar chords that match Molinari's voice and underneath a bassy chugging train-like thud that induces foot-tapping. The instrumentation sounds like it comes from the 60s and is ironically refreshing because it might remind you of a time when music was not over-produced and the lyrics were clearly audible. The effect is hardly surprising considering the album was recorded in Toe Rag Studios, opened to offer something unique, only using analogue eight-track equipment with magnetic tape and echo chambers.
A similar number to the opener is the third track 'Adelaine', which features interesting shifts. After a guitar solo, he sings in an increasingly high pitch, 'So cut some slack, And say goodbye, God knows you got your pride,' then switches to a suddenly lower pitch: 'You ain't sorry, so don't say a word!' from his attitude can be well inferred.
The slower songs on the album are equally worthy of praise. In the second track 'Oh So Lonesome for You', he demonstrates his consistent ability to convey and invoke emotions through the tone of his voice. As he sings, 'And my heart inside me is torn. Ah, you said it true when you said we're through,' he sounds hesitant and about to crack up and then charmingly extends an 'oh' as if to break up, before repeating the line, 'I'll be oh so lonesome for you' as a plea with a tinge of hope.
Other favourites of mine include the beautiful 'One Stolen Moment', the intimate and introspective 'I Don't Like the Man that I Am'. The piercing harmonica is wonderfully played on 'Sweet Louise' and 'Dear Angelina' is notable for its use of numerous instrumental layers including what one of the musicians christens a 'Pugwashy' organ. I imagined it as a sweet little Austro-Bavarian melody, which really stood out on the album.
The closer (if I exclude the bonus track) is the magnificently haunting 'Lest We Forget', a song about the two World Wars; it makes for excellent listening on a day of remembrance. It produces a heroic image in places and reminds us that we should feel grateful for those who have sacrificed themselves, but Molinari manipulates the lyrics well to teach that no one in war is truly innocent and all war is evil: 'For Queen, for God, for Land, you've got blood on your hand. For glory, power and pride, you laid your heart aside.' Further powerful imagery includes the line: 'You aim and shoot the dove.'
What is remarkable about the album 'A Virtual Landslide' is that I can tell that Pete Molinari actually means everything he writes. He is studious in his approach to music and equally meticulous in production, ensuring that the instruments are mixed to create the perfect sounds at the relevant points and that nothing is drowned out (producer Liam Watson deserves credit here). He has no interest in being a sell-out, saying to music recording magazine 'Sound on Sound' that he's not 'one of those elitists' and he doesn't care if '10 million people like it or one million people like it' as long as he believes that he has made a good record.
And a good record he has made! Throughout the album, Pete Molinari is clearly an inspired artist who cares about his work and it may have the effect of bringing country, which is in Britain a somewhat niche genre, to a much wider audience.