Maya Galattici - Exogen Tantra

  by Lisa Torem

published: 12 / 4 / 2015

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Review

Maya Galattici is the brain child of Marco Pagot, who plays bass, acoustic and electric guitar, synthesizer, organ, glockenspiel and percussion,-* and Alessandro Antonel, who plays acoustic and 12 string, electric guitar, electric piano, organ, mandolin and percussion. Both take on lead and backing vocals and create their original arrangements. Their album, 'Exogen Mantra', is a fine example of their combined talents and clean, focused artistry. ‘Alligator’ features weird sound bytes, which merge with clanky, guitars and steady beats. It has a jagged melody line, doubled by the instruments. It’s a very crisp boy band sound, recalling the best ballads of the Byrds. What you get is really danceable, hummable, singable Monkees-style cool. There is a superb instrumental digression in the outro, which shows off their versatility as arrangers. ‘I Want a Head’ starts off in style with the headstrong instrumental hook. “Baby, don’t leave me” follows with hand clap beats. It’s got wonderful iambic pentameter, all you poets! It’s hard to resist the instrumental figure that answers the lead vocals. ‘I Kill the Machine’ features significantly more electronics. It’s a major shift from the first couple of tunes. Again, here’s a team that experiments and yields beautiful rewards, yet still maintains an infectious groove. ‘When My Mind Goes When I Sleep’ brings us back to their innocence. Here’s a lovely, folk-rock ballad with a deeper theme. Think Seals and Croft. Check out the beautiful instrumental break and smooth transition back to that eloquent verse. ‘The Way to Have Happiness’ is a symphonic fusion. For growing pains, you can’t beat ‘Mother’s Blues’: “I just turned 22/I was wondering what to do.” The blistering tempo melds with a theme about emotional exploration. Bathe yourself in the floating harmonies and the bold riffs that frame them. It’s gentle, yet persuasive. ‘When The Day Explodes in the Summer Sunshine’ has more of those harmonies, although we’re somewhat distracted by the outpour of electronics. “This is not a good feeling when we close your eyes.” A curious thought that makes you want to keep on listening. ‘In The Morning’ is an exercise in ballad freedom. “In the morning, we are lazy.” “Sugar baby, you drive me crazy.” ‘Listening to the Radio’— The intro, alone, complete with squiggly effervescence and muted vocals, guarantee your entry into Maya Galattici’s sexy stratosphere. The closer, ‘Stereonauts’ is an instrumental. It’s not exactly a surprise, though. It’s like that’s what they’ve been gearing up for since the first . It’s a good choice, too, taking us to new heights. Maya Galattici is an adventurous team with lots to say and an intrepid perspective when it comes to deep exploration.

Track Listing:-

1 Alligator
2 I Want a Head
3 I Kill the Machine
4 Where My Mind Goes When I Sleep
5 The Way to Have Happiness
6 Mothers Blues
7 While the Day Explodes in the Summer Sunshine
8 In the Morning
9 Listening to the Radio
10 Stereonauts (Instrumental)

Band Links:-

https://www.facebook.com/mayagalattici
https://twitter.com/mayagalattici