JENNIFER GENTLE
Valende
Sub Pop
· Sub Pop's first Italian signing – Padova psychedelia.
Jennifer Gentle, two men from Padova, Italy (rather than merely one girl), dwell in the brightened corners of ’60s-flavoured psychedelia where the Lilys (see: The Three Way, a ’60s psychedelic Loveless, if you can find it) went broke and Joe Meek lost his mind before them.
Hidden behind a curtain of reverb and Syd Barrett-style non sequiturs, the songs of Valende take a random turn through starlit gardens (it's a theme) and topsy-turvy song structures. Toy glockenspiels revolve around "Circles of Sorrow" while "I Do Dream You" offers up what must be the world's first helium balloon solo (here's hoping it's also the last). "Nothing Makes Sense" (a self-penned mandate) sees Jennifer Gentle inhaling said helium and running through the Monkees' Head with it.
To claim Valende as something completely original and new would be a lie. That said, there hasn't been anyone else doing this sort of thing quite so well (or making it so listenable) for ages.
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