Soup Review - Go and See

  by Nicky Crewe

published: 31 / 7 / 2022

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This is the third album from Soup Review. I reviewed their debut, 'From The Bed to the Settee and Back Again' and their 2020 release, 'Beneath The Big White Moon'. I’m delighted to be able to write about this new album 'Go and See,' due for release in June 2022. Soup Review are Chris Delamere and Mario d’Agostino. Together they write songs of deceptive simplicity which are surprisingly profound. Charming, witty, self-deprecating and funny, they explore the anxieties of everyday life, finding reassurance in friendships and familiarity, nature and neighbourhood. Their early live performances really did include a delicious soup in the ticket price and the opportunity to review it. Mario d’Agostino comes from Weymouth, He’s a cook and an artist. He’s the anti-folk influence. Chris Delamere is from South Yorkshire, brought up in Morris dancing tradition. He’s the folk influence. There are themes running through the lyrics and through the music. Listen to the harmonies on the a cappella 'Chesil Beach'. There’s a Dylanesque harmonica on Too Long. Catch the Seventies psychedelic folk harmonies on '17 Days of Wind'. Cowboy dreams and Californian guitars on 'Mustangs' reminded me of early Byrds. Chase the trippy bubbles on 'Washing Up Liquid'. We are taken from post covid return to travel camping trips to days out on the Dorset coast, from secret corners of a Sheffield park, to the view across the city from Skye Edge. I’m not sure if 'I Want To See What It Looks Like' is a love song or an existential exploration - "Would this vista exist if we weren’t here to see it?’"Maybe it’s both. 'You Left After a Snowstorm' is definitely a love song, following the tracks "before the trail gets cold". 'Greet the Morning With Joy' is both reassuring and optimistic, recognising the place light and darkness plays in our lives. Snow, wind, sand, pebbles, animals, foxes, sea monkeys, even malfunctioning cassette players all make an appearance. Alongside the inspiration from the urban and the coastal come the clever self deprecating observations and anxious preoccupations that often arise in their songs. Chris explores chili related ideas of masculinity in 'Hot Sauce Man'. 'Wind Chimes' describes the perfect setting for home made wind chimes in a green "cave" in a local park. Made from stainless steel cutlery, cheap jewellery, plastic pipes, seashells and driftwood, by the end of the song, Chris expresses the fear that he might be accused of fly tipping This new album was recorded by Zac Barfoot in his bedroom studio over a couple of days as October became November in 2021, with a few evening sessions for overdubs throughout November. Always lo-fi in their approach to recording, Soup Review used a focussed new process of doing no more than three takes of each song. Throughout last year they got together for a weekly writing session, and so started with a collection of about 45 songs. They whittled away half of them, and went into the recording with the idea of blasting through as many of a batch of about 22 as they could. Through that process they found the ones they were most pleased with, cared most about, and which made the most sense together. Chris and Mario played all the guitars and most of the keyboards, with occasional bits of percussion. Chris also played the rubber duck and harmonica. Zac played the drums, bass and some of the keyboards, notably the one on Mustangs. He mixed and mastered the songs too. The album is going to be available on cassette and download/streaming via Bingo Records on the 17th of June. Their friend Lauren Stone, who is a Newcastle-based comedian, has done all the artwork.

Track Listing:-

1 Too Long
2 Mustangs
3 Chesil Beach
4 17 Days of Wind
5 Memory of a Food Festival
6 You Left After a Snow Storm
7 I Want To See What It Looks Like
8 Greet the Morning with Joy
9 Wind Chimes
10 Foxes
11 Washing Up Liquid
12 Houses by the Sea
13 Hotel Film

Band Links:-

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

Play in YouTube:-

Have a Listen:-

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