Pipolla Music
Buy: CD (Italy)
High hopes are never a good place to start. Though I know you should never judge a book by its cover, a Swedish indiepop band named Annie Hall checks three of my boxes: Swedish, indiepop, and a Woody Allen reference. How could it go wrong? Well, first off, this thing was a huge pain to get ahold of. You can’t order from the label (they do not ship to the US), and thus I had to get it from France, and pay more in shipping than the CD cost. Not looking good already, because if you know this blog, cost to obtain certainly plays into the overall rating.
Annie Hall begins the disc with “Morning News,” a fine-enough little song that I can’t for the life of me figure out how it’s seasonal. Their second song, “Walk Around,” does begin with “It’s Christmas time / Here’s an old song / for a new year.” They also mention snowballs… but really, it’s a bit of a downer right out of the gate with the dour music. Not something I really want to listen to again. Bummer.
I had thought that Gonzo48K was a Japanese band. Based on information I could find at the time, it sure looked like they might be. Nope, they are an Italian duo, which makes far more sense being paired with another Italian band on an Italian label. “Snowman’s Tears” has the kind of music that I wish Annie Hall had – upbeat, poppy, certainly in a Swede-pop vein. The lyrics, well… “So darling / You make me colder / you make me older / you close my folder?” Not exactly what I’m looking for, but really, English is their second language, and they write better songs in English than I do in Italian. “Turn off the Radio” is a much better attempt. It may even be on a shortlist for future mixes… I dig the backing beat, and the lyrics are much better: “Walk through the street light / in the Christmas time / Back to the starlight / Where the children write / Turn off the Radio / Turn off the Radio.” Still not quite telling a story, but certainly evocative when complemented by the contemplative backing track.
I found an Italian website with a note from its initial release, and I do like their motivation – which makes me feel even shittier about not really liking the record 🙂
We wanted to celebrate Christmas 2007 with a recipe EP. So we asked Annie Hall and Gonzo48k to interpret the Christmas theme through recipes and music, according to their own inspiration and style. The result is this EP of 4 songs and 4 random recipes from their and our traditions, the kind that when you smell it, oh, it’s Christmas! And down with the slippers and the hot chocolate… Because both rural folk and fucking romantics love to eat well in front of the fireplace.
Bottom Line: Good luck trying to buy it, especially in the US. Certainly not worth the price it cost to import, with only one possible song. Loses points for all the wrong reasons. 1.2/5
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