Luca Burgalassi – Come To My World | Album Review

Luca Burgalassi – Come To My World

Self released

www.lucaburgalassi.it

12 songs, 40 minutes

Luca Burgalassi’s Come To My World is aptly titled. A COVID record, Burgalassi played almost every sound on this all original material record himself during lockdown in the Spring of 2020. This Virginia based Italian transplant offers an eclectic album of mostly lush folk pop. Luca’s Italian accented singing, sinewy fingerpicked acoustic guitar and vulnerable songwriting create a romantic confessional style. However Blues fans, one would be hard pressed to categorize this as a Blues record. Aside from a few Blues based flourishes this album is a singer/songwriter indulging his muse in often divergent paths creating an at times inconsistent musical experience as a whole.

Some of the best indulgences: The “Stray Cat Strut” slink of the title track builds momentum and power as it chugs along. The ethereal “Climb up High” with piano from Valentina Sorbera and strings from Holly Kirsten has an off kilter Radiohead dissonance. The Virginia homage “Tidewater Attitude” featuring local musicians Michael Glass on vocals and guitar, Bobby Black Hat on vocals and harp, Rob Oliver on vocals and guitar, Pamela Jo Ward on vocals and Sorbera and Kristen again joining in, has a mountain top hop to it. The 2 instrumentals “Notte” and “Home” are pastoral in their majestic simplicity.

The Blues based tracks: Opener “My Loving Babe” is a 12-bar shuffle resplendent with harmonica and slide guitar. The electric noodling and Jazzy chords of “All My Blues” has a sing-song rhyming lyrical pattern. “The Real Me” is a Country Blues slide romp. Unfortunately the lyrical content of these songs are not deep and full of cliché. The Blues seems to be used as a multi-tracking studio exercise more than an expression of inner self. In comparison to the other material on this album, these tracks disappoint.

Luca Burgalassi is a talented musician and his wide range of talents are on full display on Come To My World. To multi track all the instruments for a song is a very difficult thing to do well. These performances sound live and engaged and Luca brings real emotion to the music. In the vacuum of lockdown it is fun and cathartic to allow your most ambitious skills run wild. That is what Burgalassi has done here and created some truly transcendent moments as a result.

Please follow and like us:
0