Once in a great while an album comes along and touches every musical sensor in your body. You want everyone to like it because somehow you just think it’s the best thing you’ve ever heard (again). Inevitably, someone is bound to think you’ve lost your marbles because what they hear is no where close to their idea of what a great album should be; but you’ll be damned if you’re going to allow them to tell you otherwise. The reason why Like Hearts Swelling is such an utterly fantastic album to me is that if I were to make an album myself, this is precisely what I would want it to sound like. So in a sense, it’s this connection that has made me really fond of it. As a lover of music first, and a writer second, Like Hearts Swelling reiterates just exactly why I write about (and listen to) music as much as I do.
Sandro Perri is the solo artist behind Polmo Polpo. With last years The Science of Breath being such a huge success among critics and fans alike, it’s great to see that Perri stuck close to his guns and made an even better album than his debut. As with his previous work, there are still loads of delicate drones and laptop steel guitar that seem to make life feel carefree for the duration of the disc. Aural landscapes and precise placement of electronics are still the primary focus of Perri’s music. Very few artists today are able to make such a huge statement with the smallest amount of sounds and samples like he does here. Another primary aspect of Polmo Polpo’s albums is that there are never too many, or too few, sounds to sift through to get to where you want to go. The work has been done for you. All you have to do is sit back and relax.
Like Hearts Swelling begins with the most beautiful track on the album, “Romeo Heart.” It slowly pulses its way through your ears until it completely drenches the inside of your head with a warming buzz and a sound that can only resemble that of a beautiful cry. Then deep drones slowly begin to proliferate behind all this and become one of the most pleasing moments of recording I think I’ve ever heard. “Requiem for a Fox” continues this barrage of beauty, but does so in a bit of a darker manner. It is soon lifted by a billowing laptop steel guitar that seems to take the song from ground level all the way up into the pillow-soft clouds until it just disappears. “Like Hearts Swelling” and “Farewell” become a little less spacious, but nevertheless, have the same intensity with their loops of dusty cello, steel guitar and thunderous drones. Unfortunately, there are only five songs on this album, but cohesiveness has not been spared in the least bit.
I’d be dishonest if I didn’t say I’m fully taken aback by Like Hearts Swelling. I’m even going on record to say this could quite possibly be one of the two best releases of the year. It encapsulates every element I’m fond of in music. Not even for the slightest moment is anything overdone or forceful sounding, which is always the sign of an artist who is in complete control of his/her work. In this set, Perri has taken the most beautiful sounds he could create and has stretched them to their limits so that we may enjoy every morsel of this creation. As close to perfect as Like Hearts Swelling seems to be to me, you’ll just have to be the judge of whether I’m crazy or not for loving this album so much.
1. Romeo Heart
2. Requiem for a Fox
3. Farewell
4. Sky Histoire
5. Like Hearts Swelling
More about: Polmo Polpo
