The Paco Sala project has an unshakably strong sense of identity and purpose. The confidence and certainty in the production, with every note and synthesizer timbre clearly placed exactly where it should be, is audible throughout.
[Release page] Ro-Me-Ro is the debut LP from Paco Sala, the latest project by Antony Harrison, better known to most as Konntinent that follows up the cassette-only Radial Sundown also released on Digitalis in 2011. Paco Sala takes Harrison into new and highly esoteric domains filled with blocky, crystalline formations, tumbling synths and elfin vocals courtesy of collaborator Leyli. Ro-Me-Ro is a debut that may not perhaps be in the same league as the stellar Luminaries and Synastry by Motion Sickness of Time Travel (to which it bears some similarities) but the Paco Sala project has an unshakably strong sense of identity and purpose. The confidence and certainty in the production, with every note and synthesizer timbre clearly placed exactly where it should be, is audible throughout.
There’s an almost Cocteau Twins vibe to the jangling guitars on “Spiral” that, together with marimba, Leyli’s vocals and a well of bass, create a sonic island paradise that’s unmatched elsewhere. “Tre’s Future First” builds on minimal stabs of strings, retro drum kits and glassy synth worth until it hits a gem-stuffed peak, another classy vocal performance etching a repeated chorus into the sky, reaching a mid-point apex before being deconstructed into a slowed-down, queasy, drunken version of itself. And then there’s the sublime slice of headily scented dream-pop, “Gifts of the Bloom,” Leyli’s floral, sensuous and utterly spellbinding filtered vocals fluttering above minimal strings, chimes, cascading keys and laid-back guitar.
Unfortunately, Ro-Me-Ro fails to fully deliver on the promise of this track, released digitally as the debut single in advance of the LP. With vocals as perfectly pitched as Leyli’s are, they become enormously conspicuous by their absence on some of the instrumental tracks, which all too often get bogged down in nu-Kosmische synth tropes or mildly irritating, willful weirdness. The feedback and shapeless fits of thundering, flailing percussion, weird, guttural groaning and infuriating chiming on “Blank Legend” are positively migraine-inducing. “Rosa x Damasca” fares better for being shorter and more atmospheric whilst “Legacy Edition” is another summery number with wispy clouds of vocals and more marimba.
But the album then nosedives into the noisy title track and the hideous, wavering nonsense that is “Earn Your Stripe” with vocals and keyboards that are simply all over the place. By the time the closing shimmer and half-stuck melodies of “A Home For Paco Sala” kicks in it’s too late, leaving you wondering what on earth you were just listening to.
Brad Rose is a man who is obviously keen to take risks and to keep Digitalis Recordings at the top of the list of the most eclectic independent labels on the planet. Ro-Me-Ro is a bold statement and an interesting experiment for sure, but one that isn’t entirely successful, its “all your eggs in one basket” sonic signature meaning that it potentially misses out on a broader audience. That said, there is some exceedingly pretty material on display here, and hopefully Harrison will take the Paco Sala project further in the future.
Ro-Me-Ro is available on Digitalis. [Release page]
