Artist: Nuovo Testamento
Title: New Earth
Genre: Italo Disco / Pop / New Wave / Post Punk / Synth Pop
Release Date: 30th June 2021
Label: Avant! Records
Album Review
Here’s another group of artists to cross my field of vision for the first time. As is want to happen when you are listening to an album on Spotify and after it has concluded you let the app carry on playing its radio picks. And out of the varied smorgasbord of far served up, NUOVO TESTAMENTO stood out, so I delved a bit deeper. “Who are they?” They are a trio of musicians based in LA and Bologna, Italy, and they consist of members of various other bands I’ve not heard of, including TERRAMOTO, CRIMSON SCARLET, and TORSO to name a few.
First impressions. Let's start with the album’s cover. The image is of a “Pris” looking woman striking a pose like a confident mannequin at The Tannhauser Gate. It’s airy and breezy and floaty with substance. There’s emotion in the voice and also robotic synthetic edge. ‘The Searcher’ sounds like the emotions are at a nexus with the coldness. ‘Electricity’ is Eurobeat cum Eurovision, but has just enough “shadow” in the mix to keep it on the side of likable. This reminds me of French DJ MS KITTIN. ‘Golden Boy’ is pure ERASURE with a vocal that is rather evocative of 1980s heyday of Synth Pop. I can smell the 80s just listening to this track! The energy, the vibe and the aura that was my era brings out that time when things were new and fresh and exciting!
Track five, ‘Vanity’, takes me back to the late eighties to a time when Italian singer Sabrina was bouncing around in that pool whilst waxing lyrical about those things called “boys”. But the image in my head is of a colder scene! Chilly water I’m in the middle of winter, cold black eyes staring. The next few tracks take me on a continuing trip through 80s Disco, HiNRG and New Wave with a not disinterested ear. ‘Prayers’ with its jerky hipped beat, title track ‘New Earth’ offering up a great track to dance to and final track, ‘Intuition’ managing to conjure up some late 80s / early 90s DEPECHE MODE sounding Synth Pop to finish off. I’ve mentioned in other reviews about bands sounding all Sophie Ellis Bexter vocally. There’s no change here. These vocals jump and skip all over the track like wind blowing through an open window and insinuating itself into all the rooms of the house. BOY HARSHER springs to mind also when listening to this. As an aside, the sound engineer that has worked on BOY HARSHER material worked his magic on this album too.
I don’t have much to say that’s negative about this album. I am 20 years old again. I’m not middle aged and heard it all, seen it all bored. The album has finished. Now I am!
Tracklist
01. Michelle Michelle
02. The Searcher
03. Electricity
04. Golden Boy
05. Vanity
06. Prayers
07. New Earth
08. Intuition
Line-up
Chelsey Crowley – Vocals
Andrea Mantione – Synths
Giacomo Zatti – Synths
Website
https://nuovotestamento.bandcamp.com
Cover Picture
Rating
Music: 8
Sound:8
Total: 8 / 10
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