Italians Do It Better US Vinyl & CDs

Review: Saxophonist and keyboardist Jorja Chalmers has accomplished much over the course of her career - she's toured and recorded extensively with Bryan Ferry and Roxy Music - but debut album "Human Again" marks the first time she's stood centre stage as a solo artist. She has all the ingredients to succeed on her own, though: a bold look, a supportive label in Italians Do It Better and a signature style that's in turns creepy, claustrophobic, cinematic, atmospheric and seductive. More importantly, "Human Again" is superb, offering a synthesizer-powered mix of dark ambient instrumentals, David Lynch style soundtrack pieces, drowsy and clandestine sounding songs and cuts that wrap her distinctive saxophone solos around the most evocative of electronic soundscapes.

Review: Johnny Jewel's beloved band Chromatics made a lot of people very happy when they returned with this new album back in October. Now pressed to vinyl, Closer To Grey will be familiar to long time fans - it mixes up Italo, indie rock, pop and plenty in between into a lush soundtrack that is of no particular time or place. There is even a bit of trip hop on "Light As A Feather" and "Touch Red" and dalliances with chamber pop on "Move A Mountain." Its the tried and tested sound of Chromatics, then, but with some fresh new influences that only make it all the more essential.

Review: Italians Do It Better are back with the romance nouveau of French duo Clara Apolit & Thomas Maan aka Double Mixte on their debut release. Produced by label head Johnny Jewel, this dark, romantic yet charming opus takes in aspects of Italo, synth-pop and cold wave across the EP's tracks, or what the label itself described so eloquently as a 'digital thunderstorm of neon lit noire'. The title track's subtle violence, featuring the throb of snarling Vitalic style arpeggios and rusty vintage drum computers supports Apolit's come hither vocal delivery. Mann takes centre stage on the brooding Giallo-styled slow burner "Arlette" (bringing on the sinister Argento horror film vibes) while glassy-eyed closer "November" heads towards a more ethereal direction.

Review: It's been almost a decade since the last album-length excursion from Swedish synth-pop and icy electronic disco duo Sally Shapiro (AKA producer/multi-instrumentalist Johan Agebjorn and singer Sally Shapiro). Sad Cities, the pair's first album for Italians Do It Better, is therefore long overdue. Made in collaboration with Italians Do It Better main man Johnny Jewel, the album is a typically glossy, synth-heavy affair that takes cues from Italo-disco, Euro-disco, yacht rock, nu-disco and Behaviour-era Pet Shop Boys (see the rather good title track) while remaining true to the pair's trademark style. This CD edition also boasts three bonus tracks, including a terrifically dreamy, immersive and loved-up cover pf Madonna classic 'Holiday'.