Francobollo - Long Live Life

Rating:

The band’s wonky indie rock sounds like nothing else around.

From Sweden to London via stints as session musicians for bands like Slow Club and Mystery Jets, Francobollo definitely took the long way round to their debut album 'Long Live Life'. Whether or not it was a conscious path, it seems to have worked like a charm, with the band’s wonky indie rock sounding like nothing else around.

'Long Live Life' opens with the recently-released 'Worried Times', a crashing and receding combination of space and raucous riffs that serve as a starter course in everything Francobollo do well.

The album is far from one note though, with tracks like the brilliant early single 'Wonderful' showing a tender, heartfelt side to the band, without compromising any of the wobbly weirdness that makes them great. 'USO' is another one in the same vein, a slow-paced melody that builds up into to the edge of a crescendo before retreating into sedation, showcasing a band that are more than happy to confound expectations.

'Kinky Lola' is an entirely different proposition, sounding almost like an early Jamie T track played on a tape recorder that’s just about to run out of battery. Long, drawn out vocals and lines about "Pop star wannabes straight from the 80s” combine into an acerbic and experimental mid-album stop-off.