Born from the ashes of the Rimini-based Mediterranea, a band with two previous productions to their credit, Land is a group of 4 elements: Folco Fornari (drums and electronic percussion), Massimiliano Simonetti (vocals), Nicola Nicolini (synth, programming, bass, guitar) and the newest collaborator, Emy (vocals, keyboards).
With a distinctly devoted passion for electronic music, that of Land is a sound that glides on the crest of the early ‘80s Wave, pushed forward in an new perspective, one that is more experimental, reaching out towards a matrix that reminds of a technology that is constantly and steadily evolving, day-by-day.
Immersed in dark atmospheres with an electronic derivation, Land’s music is a nostalgic oneiric glimpse; an indissoluble fusion of post-punk sounds intertwined with the pulsations of an unexpected near future. In the wake of this distinctive stylistic signature, Land finds a meaningful placement for a new work: the album ‘Down By This River’. With this string of 7 songs, 3 of which featured in double version, the band members bring to the table an impeccable manifesto of their musical vision.
The distinctive styling cue of Land’s roots, that raw clay that pragmatically refers to songs that sound like the ’80s and’ 90s, here is projected onwards, heading to an evolutionary constructive dimension that is connotatively definable as “modern”, while still remaining closely faithful to the touch proper of the Post-punk and New wave gold era.
Aesthetically, the entire album is imbued with a melancholy atmosphere, one that feels dark and yet at times bittersweet, giving new life to old school sound elements, here revised in a refined and smart way that gives new life to analog synthesizers and industrial vibes.
This excellent sound research, mixed with intimate and intense lyrics, creates evocative and pleasantly balanced soundscapes, which resonate expressively and at the same time pragmatically from the first listening, giving us an exquisite measure of the work carried out by these four artists of undeniable talent.
It is difficult to favor some of the tracks of ‘Down By This River’ over others, as each song on this album is an important and essential piece of an organic release, lead and fed by a constant and coherent stream – “the river” – that flows naturally – “down by” – from start to finish.
In this, is self-evident the chemistry that exists between the members of the band, as they are cohesively united and laser focused on delivering an accomplished musical unison. This definitely allows them to grace us with interesting arrangements, thanks to the rework for ‘Hateful’ and ‘Anyway’, up to the “electrified” version of the title track, bringing forth an exquisite piece of evidence of the versatility that characterizes them.
Of course, this is an album that requires attention to be grasped in all its essence. It could not be otherwise, for a work that projects us towards imaginary spaces. Thanks to that nostalgic oneiric glimpse we mentioned above, they led us to catch sight of a fantastic world, and place us inside scenarios made of futuristic sounds.
So familiar, and yet, at the same time, an avant-garde prediction that could be the reflection of a tomorrow that might as well already be our today. And we find all this a beautiful nostalgia.
Listen now to ‘Down By This River’, the latest album from Land, available for streaming on all the major digital platforms. Find your favourite via land.hearnow.com/
To know more about Land and their music, find and follow Land all over the web by checking the links below:
Also, you can discover ‘Down By This River’ on NOVA ERA, our playlist featuring on a weekly rotation all the artists covered by Nova MUSIC blog.