Soup Review - Beneath the Big White Moon

  by Nicky Crewe

published: 26 / 11 / 2020

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A couple of years ago I reviewed Soup Review’s first album, 'From the Bed to the Settee and Back Again'. Their music was completely new to me then. I hadn’t yet experienced their delicious approach to live gigs which often included home made soup as part of the ticket price, and yes, we got a chance to review the recipe. With this second album Chris Delamere and Mario D’Agostino share their preoccupations and anxieties in a way that we can all relate to. Mario D’Agostino tells us that this collection of songs is an attempt to "make the funny parts funnier and the sad parts sadder." Soup Review’s lyrics masquerade as comic but reveal themselves to be a poignantly self deprecating exploration of the human condition. Quirky is an overused word, but the way they mix musical accomplishment and witty lyric writing is quirkiness at its best. It’s a lo-fi and anti-folk approach, with elements of pop and indie rock thrown in. With their wit and wordplay, and their musical and cultural references they paint a picture of life that can move you to both tears and laughter. Sibling relationships are explored as they navigate awkward family occasions in 'Intoxication Pact', and the meaning of a father and son relationship in 'Gazza'. Family history mysteries are discussed in 'Uncle Armando' and 'Wikipedia Grandad'. 'Ballache Hotel' brings a hint of Leonard Cohen to the story of a dodgy landlord and a malfunctioning smoke alarm. Listen and you’ll hear the beep. 'Stars in Their Eyes on SSRIs' is a heartbreaking and hilarious exploration of mental health issues, identity and putting on a brave face "‘When I don’t really want to be me, I’ll pretend I’m Freddie Mercury"). This has been released as a single. Take a look at the video to see the resourcefulness and talent of this duo, as they play a cast of characters from Englebert Humperdink to Cher using only cardboard cut out costumes. Drunken nights out are shared in 'Orion’s Elastic Waistband', space is explored in Hello World. The album takes its title from a line in 'Jellyfish Population'. On one level it’s a funny song about the familiar fear of encountering jellyfish when swimming in the sea, but it ends with these heartwarming words: "I’m hopeful that one day that we will swim into a silver sea/To sit on a raft beneath a big white moon/Nothing between us but the glowing August moon/Sweet friends we will be reunited soon." Chris Delamere has been raised in the South Yorkshire folk tradition, with family roots in Ireland. Mario D’Agostino found his way to Sheffield from Weymouth via art college and friendships. In true Sheffield tradition they have got by with a little help from their friends on this latest album, including singer songwriter Rhiannon Scutt, BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards winner Rowan Rheingans and former Reverend & The Makers guitarist Tom Jarvis. Chris’s uncle, Andy Delamere, fourteen year old Flynn Hudson Dean and Royal College of Music scholar James Burton took turns on the drums. It’s been produced by Thomas Lebioda for Studio III Recordings at the Laundry Rooms recording studio in Sheffield.

Track Listing:-

1 Hello World
2 Grauniad Angel
3 Intoxication Pact
4 Gazza
5 Uncle Armando
6 Stars in Their Eyes on SSRIs
7 Ballache Hotel
8 Wikipedia Grandad
9 Orion's Elasticated Waistband
10 Jellyfish Population

Band Links:-

https://www.facebook.com/soupreview/
https://twitter.com/soupreviewband
https://soupreview.bandcamp.com/

Have a Listen:-

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