Strange Weekend
Transnational auteur Mauro Remiddi completes his shift from the clean-lined pop of Sunny Day Sets Fire into more ambient regions on *Strange Weekend*, his first album under the moniker Porcelain Raft. The music here sails on multilayered currents of old-school synths, inviting comparisons to the likes of Panda Bear. But there’s real angst to be found here, along the lines of John Lennon’s more tormented collaborations with Phil Spector. “Unless You Speak First from the Heart,” “Put Me to Sleep,” and “The End of Silence” use their quivering surfaces to heighten the singer’s palpable longing and need. Psychedelic colors are evident as well, with “Shapeless and Gone” achieving a perceptible lysergic shimmy. There are plenty of sci-fi swoops and gurgles for those who like that vintage cosmic touch. You can tell Remiddi had fun cooking up these sonic concoctions in his basement studio. But just as clearly, Porcelain Raft is a vessel meant to convey something far more resonant than spacy techno sounds.
The Italian-born pop artist Mauro Remiddi has covered an impressive amount of physical and aesthetic terrain in his years as a working musician. On his bleary, atmospheric Porcelain Raft debut LP, he sounds like he no longer exists on this planet.
Having impressed with four eclectic EPs (most notably last year's Gone Blind) and stirred significant buzz at 2011’s SXSW, Porcelain Raft release debut LP Strange Weekend. Entirely the work of Mauro Remiddi, these intricate soundscapes and layered vocals could easily be mistaken for the efforts of a collective. Standout numbers Is It Too Deep For You and Put Me To Sleep are especially striking, revealing Remiddi’s underlying pop sensibility.
In Fellini's 81/2, the movie's protagonist, tired of being stuck in traffic, leaves his body and floats over the cars and out toward the sea. Italian musician Mauro Remiddi (who writes and performs as Porcelain Raft) might sympathize.
Twinkling in blue skies, mingling in surf's seafoam, lapping beach hiss. Idealised situations, backing tracks to life's TV show: soaring hearts, crashing melancholy, high drama crescendos.
Porcelain Raft 'Strange Weekend' album review on Northern Transmissions.
Misty debut album that hints towards lighters-aloft stadium grandeur. CD review by Kieron Tyler