Album Review: Jacopo Pausa

Jacopo Pausa, hailing from Brescia, Italy, offers a self-contained suite of dream pop, folk, and cosmic rock that’s far more evocative than the few words he sings on The Truth. His debut album’s real triumph is in its lush melodies. Produced by ML Produzioni the pensive, downtempo tracks grow tighter, clearer, sadder and at times brighter with each listen. The singer’s voice gently braids along with filaments of guitar strings and pillowy drums, as it glides between a breathy middle range.

Some songs like “Wild North” and “In the Backyard” provide more texture than context, but perhaps, unintelligible lyrics are to their advantage. This modest collection of songs allows Jacopo Pausa ample time to wander into a strange and beautiful place, rawling forward with unhurried momentum and quietly seething until layers of rhythm become as light as the clouds. It’s an expected moment of candor from an aritst more comfortable with transparency, and as the album’s light instrumentals give way to the otherworldly wooziness of “Memories” and “The Truth,” its bluntness feels quite in place. These songs rely on sedate, hypnotic repetition, and to succeed they require a tether, something to keep them from floating completely into the air.

The album’s sound is warm, fuzzy, sad, and hopeful at times, much like a well-actually-why-not experiment that suggests an artist entirely at peace with his place in the world. This same happily adventurous spirit runs through the best of songs on the album, like on “Underwear.” “That’s Not Easy,” meanwhile, cleverly intertwines the vocals among its electric guitars, the undulating electronic tones adding to the song’s overall effect rather than tearing the listener’s attention away. Behind all of this lies an emboldened album by an emboldened artist. Nonetheless, The Truth is an album that flows with inspiration that eases the pressure off.