(r) In Pink

[Important; 2007]

Rating: 3.5/5

Styles: chamber-goth, ethereal folk, high-minded and ambitious post-rock
Others: Larsen, Current 93, Michael Gira, Coil

Perhaps the greatest insult one can hurl at a solo project from an already established musician, whose acclaim and identity are indebted to the musician's more well-known band, is that such an individual endeavor is little more than a slight and innocuous vanity. Naturally, the collaborative nature of most musical groups can elicit urges for personal recognition among some artists, and whether such solo endeavors ring solely of getting leftover ideas out of one’s system or glory on a grander scale, most feel bogged down by self-centered back-patting or a pot full of half-baked tunes.

Fabrizio Modenses Palumbo is immersed in the ominous Italian collective Larsen, who produced one of my favorite albums last year with SeieS, and Larsen's rather inconspicuous nature, most notoriously the bizarre story of how they ended up recording for Michael Gira, throws a wrench into the notion that his (r) project is a selfish stab at one-man fame. Rather, In Pink is a strongly fleshed and almost quaint album of solo goth-tinged nature-psych, a solid rendering of the subtle cold and eerie pagan folk flourishes of David Tibet and the more grounded and mature melancholy of Gira’s '90s work with Swans around the end of their career.

On the Important website, Palumbo classifies In Pink as a “punk album,” which, though superficially curious, isn’t a head-scratchingly far-off assessment considering Larsen’s tendency to inject the precious and delicate post-chamber design of bands like Rachel’s with punk’s youthful disobedience. In Pink isn't unlike a Larsen album, save for the blatant intimacy of Palumbo’s one-man orchestra. Receiving help from a few hands here and there, In Pink finds Palumbo tackling everything from viola to organ to guitar on his own and subsequently piecing together a fully-fleshed bit of remote yet personal soundscapes. The viola’s electrified ambience on “The Straw That Broke The Camel’s Back” rings comfortingly familiar to Palumbo’s fanbase, but “Fagolose” follows with a sturdy body built on a guest drummer’s paced rhythms and Palumbo’s Cocteau Twin-tinged guitar figures that suggest a more organic or agrarian take on the surreal pop of the fertile '80s 4AD legends.

Palumbo’s devotion to this mindset is best exhibited on a rewarding cover of Joy Division’s “Atmosphere” that works in realizing that it's best not to overstep bounds or naively radicalize to the point of arrogance. Covering Joy Division nowadays is a ticket to cynical sighs; it’s a testament to Palumbo’s focus that he’s one of the few smart enough to allow such a prospect to flourish.

Some originals like “Martini Cocktail” have sheen of underdevelopment, while the arrangement of the Irish folk song “The Unfortunate Rake” rings a bit self-consciously conceited, leaving In Pink unable to completely escape the general gloss of slight egotism that pervades many side endeavors. Yet, songs like “Landscape #2,” which explore the comfortable space created when the sounds of a modern city are juxtaposed with serene and inviting musical compositions, are lovely enough to nominate (r) as a project worthy of intense devotion from both Palumbo himself and his followers. While perhaps not a complete draw to those already intent on the charms of Larsen, In Pink deserves fair treatment and critical consideration as a carefully constructed venture rather than mere solo novelty.

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