- Label: 'Gare Du Nord Records/Bandcamp'
- Genre: 'Indie'
- Release Date: '28.4.23.'
Our Rating:
Cirrus is the latest album by everyone's favorite Scottish obsessed Italians, who are on Gare Du Nord Records, but really sound like they are on Last Night From Glasgow Records or a reanimated Postcard records. Antonio Tavoni is the leader of Angus McOg and for this album he's working alongside Luca Di Mira, Enrico Pasini, Luca Torreggiani and Fulvia Gasparini, they recorded the album at Sonic Temple Studio in Parma.
The album opens with the title song Cirrus that is a very gentle piano led song about gazing at the clouds, that feels very reflective as the bass and strings come in with gentle classical cadences.
Lou is equally sparse, gentle attempts at lifting yourself from the torpor by singing Nena's hit song, the chiming organ adding texture as the guitars figure out how to evoke all the feelings in the lyrics as they claim to be sitting on top of the world, a world where plangent guitars are the order of the day.
Currents are slowly moving downstream, the light piano part almost feels like water finding its way around a small obstacle, this feels like they are remembering better times, hoping to be able to swim against the Currents dragging them down.
Parts has a funkier edge, although it's still rather downbeat, as they dredge up memories of 1968 and know that they really have little in common with this person they have spent part of their lives with, this is musically impassioned and quite powerful especially once the trumpets come in.
Chances is a swelling song about the chances that come and go in life, will you grab the right ones as you follow that piano line, will you give up as the lyrics suggest you ought to or will you fight on alongside the baleful trumpet and ululating backing vocals.
Sirens is yet another song with this title, the Sirens are calling them from the water, as sylph like acoustic guitar with gauzy percussion accentuate this tale.
Communist Party Party is a song that works brilliantly from an Italian perspective, where the Communist party maintains a certain amount of influence, this song may baffle any American listeners, as it sounds like an almost Primal Scream style party anthem, it doesn't have a five year plan, more a five hour plan, as the guitars fly and they get down with the comrades having a damn good time, I'd love this to be an unlikely hit.
Say My Name goes back to the quietly intoxicating sound that most of the album has as Antonio begs you to start chanting Angus McOg at every opportunity as the brass adds emotion to this slowly evocative song with a long fade out.
Find out more at https://www.facebook.com/angusmcog https://www.angusmcog.com/ https://linktr.ee/angusmcog?fbclid=IwAR2hTAu-BOyXFQFOeVhZnDBqls7Q79EmvlcwKivkbom979YrO8YBeF8Sgks https://angusmcog.bandcamp.com/album/cirrus
