Dane Di Pierro has been a co-writer of this blog for quite a while now. Not long ago his band Distant Creatures, a band that also made some excellent contributions to the Fadeawayradiate Records comps (https://fadeawayradiate.bandcamp.com/track/destroy-the-heart-house-of-love), unfortunately, ceased to exist. However, in the aftermath of the split-up and being stuck indoors during the Covid 19 lockdown, Dane struggled on to stay creative and musically active. The result of this is the Romance Languages EP.
Being a veteran band member of indie pop bands such as The Capstan Shafts, Ghost Hotel and the afore-mentioned Distant Creatures, Dane decided to revisit some old demos that were started years ago and decided to finish them. During that process two brand-new songs saw the light that Dane describes as “spirited-indie-rock, glittery dreampop with some touches of indie-folk“. The circumstances of the production of the EP influenced the lyrics, which explore the associated themes of “isolation, restlessness, alienation, and learning to be content with the things we have.”
Highlights are “Misread” (my personal favourite) which oozes some classic shoegaze influences as well as contemporary dreampop sounds in the tradition of Beach Fossils, DIIV, Foliage. “You’ve got Everything You Need” sounds like it comes straight off a Moose album (never a bad thing), and the infectious “Let’s Get Out” blends spunky postpunk rhythms, melodic jangle-guitar a la Marr with a wall of ethereal noise. Sometimes it’s a bit much to take on at once, and the songs will suddenly take you to totally unexpected places, but there’s some sheer beauty in the chaos and it’s definitely a promising start: a celebration of lofi indie to the max!
