Giacomo Oberti, the fontman and songwriter of sparkling Italian guitar/synth
pop combo The Bankrobber goes disco. With his fresh project Common Flaws
he aims at the dance floor.
The first effort is a cover of Happy House, a darkish single by goth queen Siouxsie and her Banshees. The song was released 40 years ago, on 8 March 1980 and featured on their Kaleidoscope album.
With an ongoing deep bass beat Common Flaws gives the already vibrant rhythm of Happy House a 90s techno resonance. The sampled, female vocals come from the 1999 romantic comedy Notting Hill with Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant.
This is the happy house
We’re happy here in the happy house
To forget ourselves and pretend all’s well
There is no hell, ooh-ooh
The by now legendary passion rockers from Cincinnati, Ohio with mastermind Greg Dulli leading the troops have their new longplayer How Do You Burn? out on 9 September.
This lead single is a sturdy steamroller, a red-hot-heated ripsnorter, an unstoppable cannonball going everywhere fast. Manic blitzkrieg guitars, ruthless drum/bass attacks, Greg Dulli‘s rush of blood vocality, and a brutal finish. Flabbergasting.
Dulli: “That’s one of the hardest rock songs we’ve ever done.
It was written and performed on sheer adrenalin.”
This London post-punk team unleashed their 2nd scorching album Beware Believers, last April. One of TUTV’s best full-lengths of 2022 (so far).
Single Slowly Separate is a schizo sonic serpent generating a mind-blowing backwash
while chainsaw guitars turn up the decibels to an illegal peak, and man-in-the-middle James Fox rages and blazes through his teeth.
This frenetic Brit force hit big time with their dazzling debut album The Great Regression last March (more about it in a couple of days).
Let’s focus now on one of its cast-iron brainbreakers. It’s a poignant, biting, and
anxious uppercut. I’m pretty sure Moss would love this hit-and-run drone when
it would hit her ears. She is, after all, the Femme Punk Fatale of fashion.
4. ‘Twitchin’ in The Kitchen’ byWARMDUSCHER (London)
This punky-funky disco corker is the perfect pick-me-up tune for all the wacky weirdos who are always in the kitchen at parties waiting for free drinks and waiting for Warmduscher to come in and kick their lazy asses. Big stroke, big chorus, big fun!
“It’s a warning, an unflinching assessment of the vastness and insignificance of this
life, is precisely counterbalanced by their lesson, which models the resilience that this understanding demands. ‘Demolition Row’ is persistent, concise, and alarmingly physical.”
This blustery belter is vintage Metz. Full blast ahead, no brakes, no breaks.
The track featured on a split 7” with London-based group Adult Life.
From Dylan’s Desolation Row
to Metz’s Demolition Row…
“As a story or metaphor, we are all ‘Frankenstein’s monster’ – made up of other people’s opinions and parts that don’t belong to us. That we were born perfect but people, in their
own conditioning, come along and can make us feel undesirable/inadequate/the monster.
But we can choose to be real instead.”
This is without a shadow of a doubt the best debut single I heard so far this year.
A towering tune going low, high and back. A sickly sticky pop gem wrapped in
a big-boisterous-wall-of-sound. And upfront, Sianna Lafferty ‘s phenomenal voice
causes goosebumps when she goes sky-high on the chorus. The ardency of Porridge Radio comes to mind.
One word: AWESOME.
“I am not what you want me to be
Uncle Sam won’t even point at me
Even the eyes of the Virgin Mary wall
hanging won’t even stare at me.”
Shaman progresses like a vicious viper sliding to its prey. Determined, but always
wary of sudden danger. It dumbfounds and flummoxes while the song’s tension
intensifies and sends shivers down your spine.
No metallic explosions or abrupt pace changes this time, although it feels like a thunderstorm can happen as the mesmeric music swells along its ominous path
towards a demonic climax. Another appealing piece de resistance, another
psychedelic exploit another step closer to the new album.
“A paean to taking your foot off the gas and letting things slide, or a warning of the perils of procrastination, perhaps? It’s hard to tell whether ‘Mañana’ is meant to serve as a confessional regarding Domestic’s own perceived lack of willpower, or a celebration of idleness. It could be either of these things; and that’s one of its many joys.”.
A sirens intro, David Bowie‘s saxophone, and steel drums straight from Trinidad. Sounds like an exotic swing and shake ditty is coming up. No folks, it’s a lazy rap-sody you can play the morning after a booze marathon to get up and sober up, slowly.
Soul voice Clare Gillet takes care of the chirpy chorus.
“Propelled by a motorik rhythm and abrasive guitars, it stomps toward a doom-laden finale. Inspired by Sebastião Salgado’s (note TUTV: Brasilian photographer) anarchic photos of the Gold Mines of Serra Peladain the Amazon in 1985: the track explores the relentless obsession with grasping a glint of glory from the mud. “
Once I learned that this startling belter is about the horrible exploitation of human
beings by ferocious money sharks this jagged jackhammer blew my mind even harder than I heard it the first time before knowing about the band’s inspiration for this stunner.
Expect rabid guitars, doom and gloom vocals, and frantic
twists and turns until the chaotic finale. Post-punk at
its razorblade best.
Geordie Greep (vocalist, guitar): “Almost everything I write is from a true thing, something
I experienced and exaggerated and wrote down. I don’t believe in Hell, but all that old world folly is great for songs, I’ve always loved movies and anything else with a depiction of Hell.”
A screwy zig-zagging haymaker it is. From upcoming, 3rd, LP Hellfire.
My fav track from one of my fav albums of the year (so far), baptized A False Glimmer Of Hope with loudmouth James Domestic (yep, the
guy from above) going bonkers.
This red-hot-blistering hardcore missile punks up your adrenalin and
invites you to open all windows and doors and yell your tits off.
My favored sonic sci-fi symphony from the duo’s excellent Eris Wakes EP.
Trippy, spooky, trancy. With repetitive mind-twisting Krautrock eurhythmics
that take you on an otherwordly voyage. Top-flight!
After the piano intro (sounds like the theme tune of classic horror-thriller Halloween) this young outspoken artist fumes with barbed wire temper towards the supersonic chorus that resonates like hardcore rap.
This rushing rollercoaster swings forth and back with grim impetus until the gloomy
synth climax makes way for that ominous piano fragment again. TV or not TV, that’s
the question? The answer is easy. To hell with the relentless idiocy of reality TV stars and influencers constantly putting pressure on growing minds to behave in ways unattainable to most.
Oscar Mic wrote this song after witnessing the horrific violence of
psycho Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine on the news. All proceeds of
the song go to Save The Children’s Ukraine Appeal.
We Are Ukrainian is a tremendously catchy hip-rap-pop jam featuring steel drums
and timpani balancing somewhere between Roots Manuva and Mr. Scruff.
“Fleeing people running scared, so tell me Where’s the justice? Our leaders say they care,
tell me can you trust this? Urban warfare, your home’s done and dusted, Aiming at the
public, they wouldn’t? They just did,”
The titillating electro- intro echoes early Depeche Mode before they became the darkwave Goth-esque rockers we all know. But in an eye-blink White Skin turns into a swirling synth-pop stomper to fill dancefloors with. It’s an instantly infectious nightclub earworm with an ecstatic chorus.
18. ‘Worthless Souls’ by MELTED WINGS (Toronto, CA)
“A track that calls out how sexism and power corrupt all levels of society.
We all need to recognize this going forward and make sure that it doesn’t
go unchecked.”
The sickly sticky synth beat comes across like an invitation for my feet to kick the butts of vicious sexists and power-horny billionaires ruining people’s lives. Middle finger to them while spinning around mad as a hatter to this bang-on electro buzz. Trust me, you’ll feel much better afterward
This is what ecstatic pop grandeur is all about. Music that elevates
your state of mind to a titillating level. This pearl generates a feel-good
entrancing buzz.
When the multi-layered vocals/harmonies pop up in a gospel-like choir delight
creates an atmosphere of utter joy comparable with the euphoric drive of The Polyphonic Spree. Vitalizing vibe, refreshing rapture.
20. ‘Life And Lies’ by LEE ROGERS (Northern Ireland)
A mixed-emotions lullaby with Rogers‘ sky-reaching voice as the star. It’s an emotional
and bluesy reflection. Wurlitzer jukeboxes should be reinvented for these heartbreakers so moody minds can cry their eyes out (or cry in their beer) at night in a downtown bar where lonely ones gather and muse about life and lies.
Clips that will have an impact on your eyes and your ears…
10 July 2019
Last year Italian pop ensemble THE BANKROBBER released their delightful debut LP MISSING. An enrapturing album of refined songwriting with exhilarating orchestrations and playful arrangements. Levitating music without frontiers. This year the band went on their first Euro tour, playing a series of gigs in different great European cities. To celebrate all these experiences the band just launched a lively video clip for one of the most notable songs on their debut LP. Here’s ‘REVOLUTION‘…
Suppose David Lynch wants to make a Spaghetti Western then this wistful lullaby should be part of the soundtrack. I’m sure he would like it for the shadowy vibe, the psychotic sinner (he likes psychotic sinners) and for the guitar reverberating sparks, thinking that’s it his fav nostalgic Casanova Chris Isaak on guitar (note: Lynch directed Isaak‘s Wicked Game video that featured flashes from his 1990 Wild At Heart movie).
The stirring Throwing Muses/50 Foot Wave songstress has her
new solo LP, titled Clear Pound Road out on 8 September.
Hersh about the song: “I lived on Constance Street in New Orleans
when that song’s story happened. Buying slips in the Irish Channel/broken
prince in fluorescent camo is a very Southern day. I was born a hick and
I guess I’ll always be one.”
It’s a subtly groovin’ beauty
with Hersh poetic storytelling
adding a magical touch.
This Dutch-American rock band has its roots firmly planted in both the regional
and international counterculture. They produce a raw, dirty groove influenced by
punk, Provo, and punk icons. Their poetry is packed with social criticism.
The IL have canned their 4th LP. It’s named Good Busy and arrives via Floprecords, digitally on 11 September and physically (vinyl/CD) 4 days later.
This first single is a tremendously catchy and melodic tune that mesmerizes from the kick-off. Stimulated by a sparkling and melancholic guitar riff à la Kurt Vile, a foot-stompin’ beat and word-smith Joshua Baumgarten‘s expressive storytelling, it becomes an electrifying pop gem, after a couple of spins. One for which the repeat button was invented for. One that invites you to stop for a while and look around to find the light at the end of the tunnel.
No retirement yet for the imperishable, now 72-year-old, pop-rock songsmith.
From the early 70s on he wrote/recorded/released a countless number of LPs
featuring several masterpieces.
Last February the Los Angeles‘ psychedelic garage pop/rock darlings
released their 5th longplayer Islands In The Sky. Their best ever to
my satisfied ears.
I Am A Wave is a new standalone single.
It’s a haunting mid-tempo psych jam, a sonic torch in the dark. The combination of the characteristically high-pitched Bloomgarden vocals, her 60s-sounding Hammond organ, the weeping guitars, the howling backing vocals, the steady drum beat and the glowing finale is just riveting and engrossing.
This is not a Mexican wave, it’s Bonnie‘s wave.
Follow her flow, she’s really kind of amazing.
This sharp-rap-cutting Los Angeles duo released their highly acclaimed riot-gun album Mid Air last month. This 3rd single is nothing less than fucktastic, with a sickly sticky flow, a killer guitar riff and the tandem’s adrenalized vocality.
The kawaii metal girls teamed up with Rage Against The Machine
guitarist Tom Morello for this new head-banging blast. Their mix of
glam metal, pop-punk melodies and pithy/screamy vocals are an
infallible formula.
The title track is the 3rd appetizer. A happy-go-lucky summer tune.
Irresistibly infectious. These two manoeuvres in the dark still come
up with vitalizing electro thrills.
The accompanying video is an animated spectacle, that features a nod to the imagery
of various sci-fi films, notably Fritz Lang’s Metropolis, Run Lola Run, and Blade Runner.
9. ‘Your Side Of Town’ by THE KILLERS (Los Angeles)
Following their underrated 2021 album Pressure Machine and last
year’s single BoyLos Angeles‘ pop champs return with a new gem with
a vintage, nostalgic Killers flavor.
Asalone is the solo project of singer/songwriter/producer Adam Stanley Putzer from Buffalo, NY.
His new song is a reflection on returning to the place you
grew up, only to feel like a stranger in your own hometown.
Uplifting tunes like this one are always welcome on my busy headphones.
It’s a richly orchestrated melody that grabs your aural attention straight
away with its jaunty piano touches, scintillating guitar play, a bracing refrain
and last but not least Asalone‘s impassionate voice.
Amplified pop melancholia is what you get here.
Don’t be a stranger, enjoy and embrace the shadow.
11. ‘Fingerprints’ by : TREMENDOUS (Birmingham, UK)
Fingerprints is a post-break-up love song starting slowly and smoothly, only with
frontman’s Dudzinski‘s heartbroken voice and his weeping guitar, but 45 seconds
in, the emotions and the decibels go up and turn the song into a goosebumps power ballad, proving once again that lovesickness can lead to compellingly cathartic music.
Think the romantic vibes of The War On Drugs mixed with Noel Gallagher‘s raw guitar
play of the early Oasis days. To my persuaded ears Dudzinski has a torch-burning gem
on his hands. In a normal world, it would be a hit. Hands down.
Common Flaws is the solo project of Giacomo Oberti,
the singer/songwriter from Italian synth-pop outfit The Bankrobber.
Cosmic Dance offers ambient vibes, jungle-esque drum beats, scintillating
synth sparks, and echoing vocals. It trips in your mind from the get-go.
Its tempting, playful flow and its melodic resonance have a tranquilizing
effect. A dream-stimulating effort.
This London-based quartet formed in 2019. They blend psychedelia,
shoegaze and post-punk influences into their music.
Prize is the first 2023 music following a couple of new ones
last year and their excellent 2019 debut album Infinite.
I wonder if they invited Interpol‘s stellar guitarist Daniel Kessler and
give him a license to overdub the guitars at play on Prize. The result is
a wall-of-shoegaze vibrancy that progresses in slo-mo and grows in
intensity along its route, with foggy vocals all over it.
More melodic than My Bloody Valentine, tighter than Slowdive. Is it real or
fantasy? No idea, but who cares when it’s as ear-and-mind pleasing as this.
Small Circles is an indie act from Cardiff, Wales. Inspired by the early New Wave movement, they infuse elements of Punk, Blues and Grunge into their genre-bending sound. Their music has a distinctly queer, underground feel, finely balancing heavy grooves and breakdowns with catchy hooks and choruses.
Mirari tackles all war-greedy political leaders. You can feel/hear
the anger, the frustration and the in-your-face rage on ExtraTerrestrial.
Its cast-iron slow-mo drones, its vocal aggression, its ear-piercing guitar furor
and its razor-sharp Mirari rap sequence combine for a volcanic knockout.
We need big miracles to end all the Warshit!
15. ‘The Light At The End Of The World’ by IAN WILLIAMS (UK)
Williams started his music career in Edinburgh (Scotland) in the mid 1980’s as a founder
of Beautiful Pea Green Boat, whose ethereal, atmospheric sound pre-dated the vogue for dream pop by at least twenty years. He is now based in London and more recently, he has worked with singer Claudia Barton aka Gamine, releasing two albums of dark, piano-led torch songs and lullabies.
This new piece will feature on his new, forthcoming
full-length ‘Slow-Motion Apocalypse’, out in October.
Think Vangelis sharing ideas with Tangerine Dream and Jean-Michel Jarre.
Cinematic, with spacey, melodramatic vocals. It could be part of the soundtrack
of a nature documentary about an eagle flying between the sea and the sky. Proud, mighty, fearless and untouchable. These are the images I see on my screen in
my mind.
Stress Dolls is the moniker of alt/pop/rock artist Chelsea O’Donnell.
Her new single is a fully electricity-charged stunner with O’Donnell
expressive vocals adding a poignant resonance.
The dream-pop duo from Brighton, UK enthrall with their new musing that
will be part of the new, forthcoming album, named Internal Noise, out in
the autumn via Austerity Records.
It features the vocal harmonies of Jack and Lily Wolter,
both from the band Penelope Isles, while Jack also
drums on it.
Singer-songwriter Mark Benton encapsulates his psychologically and physically
crushing insomnia experiences in a bittersweet and melancholic pop tune that
babbles like a sparkling brook, yet underlying this humdinger resonates as if
the after-effects of the sleepless years are still wandering around. In the end
here’s proof again that music can be healing. Beautiful.
The Cincinnati heroes fronted by Matt Berninger, their songwriter
and one of the best crooners of the modern age released their 9th LP,
named First Two Pages Of Frankenstein last April.
Last week they dropped two new gloomy ballads to keep
the momentum going. One of them is Alphabet City.
Now, after 45 (!) years, several line-ups and several hiatuses Dexys released (only)
their 6th album, the highly entertaining and feel-good full-length The Feminine Divine.
Mastermind Kevin Rowland celebrated his 70 birthday a couple of weeks ago,
and still has the gift to write a goosebumps balledis about. My Submission is
a diamond of a song.
THE BANKROBBER is a twinkling Italian synth pop act that formed already a while back but released its gleaming debut album MISSING only last year. An ardent record with melodious pop symphonies and meditative musings showing the group’s high-quality songwriting skills. A quartet without sonic frontiers. Two weeks ago the four musicians returned from their first full Euro Tour, playing a total of 24 shows. Turn Up The Volume saw them glisten twice in his home country Belgium and was curious to know more about their European adventure. So, after a well-earned post-tour sleep, please welcome now singer/songwriter and guitarist Giacomo Oberti who will tell us some small and big stories from the past few months, after this musical intro for those who are not familiar with this South-European squad…
1. Last February when you started the Euro Tour your debut album MISSING
turned 1 year. How did you look back at the record one year later and did you
had a birthday party to celebrate?
“Honestly we didn’t celebrate the first year of our album, because time is running so fast. We made a lot of things during the past year, but there was no time to release anything. The two months previous to the tour we were always in the rehearsal room to practice. Anyway, we don’t celebrate the past, we prefer to be focused on the future and look forward to new experiences. Missing has been a starting point after the release of our
first EP The Land Of Tales. We’re still happy with what we achieved. Of course we could have recorded some parts in different ways or with different sounds but what really matters are the songs and we still cherish them.”
The ‘Missing’ album…
2. How was the overall public reaction on this first Euro Tour?
“The audience’s reaction was always great, each in its own way. We played in different countries and different kind of venues, so we noticed some differences but overall we met a heterogeneous audience. German people are definitely the ones who focus the most on the show, but we had the pleasure to meet so many wonderful people everywhere.”
3. The best thing you experienced during this first European journey?
“Good and bad experiences were usually common. We had a really funny experience in Delft (note = small Dutch town) the day after our concert in Rotterdam. We had lost the keys of the van (and we didn’t have a spare set), so after an hour of desperate searching we were sitting on a bench in front of the van in the parking lot, when Maddalena (our synth player/singer) abruptly jumped up at one point as she was surprised by seeing the van’s signal lights going on, all of a sudden. At first, we didn’t believe her. But a bit further down the road, there just in front of us was the main key. Fortunately, a passing car rode exactly on and over it and activated the key that way! The joy of seeing this was like winning the World Cup final.”
Maddalena after the key experience…
4. The worst thing that happened during the trip?
“Maddalena has broken her left hand’s finger a week before the end of the tour, but fortunately it was a tiny fracture and she was able to play on. And yes, we had a couple of bad experiences, like when we found out after the show in Passau (Germany) that the van’s battery was dead. But the worst thing happened in Marseille (France) when arriving at the venue we discovered that it had been closed for months.”
5. Going on tour is so hard for smaller bands. What is it that motivated you to ride
so many miles, getting not enough sleep and waiting daily for hours for all sort of things to happen before going on stage to play at night?
“We just love what we do and we believe in our music. I think touring is one of the best ways to make a name for yourself. Sometimes as you say it’s hard, but we made it and
at the end of those three months of traveling around Europe and playing our music we ended up with a good feeling because for a band like us, going on the road is a very important thing to do. It’s not easy to book concerts, it’s not easy to get paid enough to cover all the expenses and it’s not easy to share everything, every single moment, with
the very same four people for a long time but this is what we want to do. Passion is the foundation of our profession. Without that, it would be better to look for another job.
This was our first real European tour and we’re really proud of it and we want to thank
all the venues and all the people that helped us to make this possible.”
Driven by passion…
7. The most beautiful place you visited?
“It’s really hard to say because we visited a lot of beautiful places, we played in European capitals like Amsterdam, London, Prague and several other big cities, but also in small towns we really loved like Marburg (Germany). Maybe overall our favorite cities were Rotterdam and Amsterdam because of the architecture and its people.”
8. The top 5 songs/artists that were played on the van’s stereo?
“Sometimes we had fights over the music, but as we had an average of 6/7 hours in
the van every day there was enough time to listen to almost all the music ever released
on this planet, even though we had to take e break from internet now and then, in favor
of the navigator. Anyway, there were also a lot of moments without music too, when we needed to relax. Usually, we played playlists from Spotify with tons of various artists. But
I guess overall our top 5 featured Coldplay, Air, Gorillaz, White Lies and The Neighborhood.”
9. Who felt homesick and how soon?
“After the first two months we had a break of two weeks, we went back to Italy and honestly, I didn’t want to leave again. I felt very comfortable at home again and I also wanted to start working on the new album.”
11. Some bands try to connect with an audience by inserting a couple of famous covers into their set. You didn’t do that. Suppose you had to pick one to cover
which one would it be?
“We used to play ‘Lullaby‘ by The Cure. We thought about doing one this tour, but the reason we didn’t include a cover in our set eventually was simple. Because we actually couldn’t make a choice.”
Once upon a time…
12. What would you do differently when going on another tour in the future?
“We had 24 shows spread over a period of three months. Next time we will try to play as much as possible but in a much shorter period of time and, of course, we would love to play in front of thousands of people in the future.”
13. Which famous artist/band would you like to join you for your next tour?
“It would be great to play with, among others, Biffy Clyro, The Neighborhood, Placebo
or Queens of The Stone Age.”
14. The next step for THE BANKROBBER?
“We are going to drop the new video for ‘My Revolution‘ very soon
and we’re already working on the new album.”
Thank you Giacomo for this interview,
may the road rise with THE BANKROBBER!
Italian popsmiths THE BANKROBBER are almost at the end of their first European tour to promote their excellent 2018 debut album Missing. A deliciously elaborated work of multi-colored pop tunes that feels like a beatific head massage. Yesterday the 4-headed squadra played their second gig in Belgium as part of this debut Euro journey. Turn Up The Volume went and watched them for the second time, enjoyed the enthralling music, had a chat with the enthusiastic band members and soon you’ll read here on this space spicy stories about The Bankrobber‘s experiences on their first trip outside their home country. But first, one of my fav songs and some visuals from yesterday night at the Bandcave club in Tielt…
Picture this…
A good guy with a VOICE…
Just having a dream…
Spotlights on the bass man…
Black and white suede shoes…
The silence of the lamps…
Bullseye…
Turning up the light again…
Hey, Miss Tambourine Woman, play a song for me…
In case you wondered, the actual bankrobber is the hammering man in the back….
After releasing their enthralling album MISSING early this year, a refreshing record of high-quality songwriting with rich orchestrations and wondrous arrangements, Italian
pop collective THE BANKROBBER seems to want to start something new, right now,
on Halloween day. New single ‘MY REVOLUTION‘ is going up and down, forth and back, balancing between confusion and revolution with one and only conclusion… all you need
is love. It’s another example of this band’s versatile musical talent and spirited sonic skills. To hell with the bogeyman here’s some real sensitive trick or treat excitement…
Clips that will have an impact on your eyes and your ears…
16 May 2018
Italian pop collective THE BANKROBBER released A GOOD GUY WITH A GUN, one of
the intriguing highlights of their second album, as their new single. It’s accompanied
by a striking, cinematic black & white video clip. Directed by Matteo Scotton it looks,
to my eyes, as a medieval Godfather sequence. Mysterious and mystifying. A truly imaginative and visual achievement. Have a look for yourself right here…
THE BANKROBBER hails from Italy, a band formed in 2008 and named after that classic The Clash song. But this 4-piece is more about colorful pop rainbows than about punk reggae, more about multi-layered symphonies than about in-your-face rock ‘n’ roll. Their brand new debut album MISSING is crystal clear proof of their high-quality songwriting abilities. A delectable collection of top-notch vibrations with swirling electrodynamics.
Rich orchestrations and wondrous arrangements. Universal pop music without frontiers. Before talking to singer/songwriter and guitarist Giacomo Oberti let’s get in the right mood with one of the highlights off the LP. Here’s Closer…
Hello Giacomo, welcome at Turn Up The Volume!…
1/ When, how and why did the band form?
“We formed the band 10 years ago. At the beginning, we just wanted to play our favourite songs from our favourite bands. But soon, we began to feel the need to write our own stuff. So, we chose a name and started writing. Soon after that, we started playing shows in our area.”
2/ What’s the story behind the band’s name?
“When we started playing, we mainly listened to The Clash, and so, we decided to steal the name from one of their songs. We chose it many years ago, but it still means a lot to us and represents us. I still like the way it sounds.”
3/ When did you know “this is how we want to sound, this is
what we want to tell the world”?
“I think our sound had a turning point three years ago, when we released the single ‘Good Road To Follow’. Actually, it was a turning point for the whole project, because we introduced keyboards and the female voice of my sister. It really changed our sound a lot. We’re inspired by the British New Wave, but we also listen to a lot of American music too. So, we mix our influences and try to create our own sound.”
The turning point…
4/ What’s the signature track so far for The Bankrobber?
“It’s hard to choose just one track. At the moment, I’m undecided between Closer and Pier 39, because both are quite dark and I think it represents us. But the new album is out now, so maybe we’ll find a new one.”
Music without frontiers…
5/ What movie would you pick to visualize your music on a big screen
in the back of the stage when playing a show?
“This is interesting! No one has ever asked us this question before. In fact, it’s a great question because we’re pretty passionate about cinema. It’s also a pretty hard one, too, because we wouldn’t want to ruin the movie. But if I think about it, a western from Sergio Leone would be perfect!”
The Bankrobber, once upon a time in the west…
6/ What’s on the van’s stereo when driving to gigs?
“On our van’s stereo, there is really everything. Well, everything except for heavy metal
or shitty electronic stuff, but there’s lots of current music. But I mean everything like, for example, last year, our drummer and I drove the others crazy with the One Direction songs ‘Perfect‘ and ‘History‘. Actually, I don’t know why we listened to them so much, but I guess because they’re happy songs and so we always belted them out at the top of lungs. Anyway, during our trips, there is a lot of music that each of us chooses, usually different song rotations that go on for hours.”
7/ If the band was an animal, which one would it be?
“Wow, I’ve never thought about it. I don’t even have a favorite animal. But I suppose,
if the band was an animal, it would be a bird to be free to fly anywhere.”
There goes The Bankrobber…
8/ Social media: a blessing or a pain in the ass?
“Social media are definitely a pain in the ass. What I mean is that, if I think about teenagers lost in the screens of their phones for hours, man, they’re losing contact with the real world! And it’s mostly the fault of social media. But if we talk about it in terms of promotion, in my opinion, it can be very helpful, even if it is not so easy to manage.
This is because there are so many platforms to try to cover. For example, we’ve got our website, but we also have videos on YouTube, and we’re on Facebook and Instagram so people can find us more easily. You just have to be. So today, it’s a real job to manage a social network and benefit from it.”
9/ If you could go back in time on which artist’s front door would
you knock and ask to have a selfie together?
“We probably would like to knock on Sid Vicious’s door and ask him for a selfie because he was such an icon of social, fashion and musical periods that no longer exist, he totally fascinates us. We love a lot of 70’s and 80’s punk bands like The Clash, Sex Pistols, Dead Boys, Damned, Ramones and many others.”
10/ Plans for 2018?
“The new album ‘Missing‘ is out now, and we already have a tour to promote it in Italy, Spain, and Portugal at the end of February. This year, we just want to play as much as possible. Maybe we’ll get to Belgium too (note TUTV: ‘I’m waiting’)!”
Thank you for chatting with Turn Up The Volume, Giacomo!
May the road rise with THE BANKROBBER!
ELEVEN KNOCKOUTS I played on repeat in MAY!
A dazzling cocktail of red-hot rippers & crazed grooves
activating all my senses and itchy limbs this past month! TURN UP THE VOLUME! Here’s the May knockout team!
. 1/ ‘City Looks Pretty’ by COURTNEY BARNETT (Melbourne, Australia) Barnett rolls, rattles and rumbles, again with this swirling cracker…
Album: Tell Me How You Really Feel
2/ ‘Mine’ by BELLY (Boston, US)
Its groovy mid-tempo beat and seducing rhythm sticks instantly…
Album: Dove
3/ ‘Strange’ by AY WING
Gracious voice, gloriously affecting pop stroke, magnificent score…
EP: Ice Cream Dream
4/ ‘Lately’ by TERRA PINES (Brisbane, Australia)
Firework guitar electricity. Speedy bolide going totally nuts…
Album: new self-titled LP on Bandcamp
5/ ‘Jack In Titanic’ by BODEGA (New York, NY, US)
One day these Parquet Courts‘ proteges will outplay their patrons, definitely! Cracking cut!…
Album: Endless Scroll – out 18 July
6/ ‘Feels’ byDEEPER (Chicago, IL, US)
An irresistible 2-minute jingle jangle guitar drone with a feverish drive…
Album: self-titled debut out now – stream here
7/ ‘Feel Your Love’ by THE MAGIC LOTUS (London, UK)
A tempestuous garage slam with a highly addictive, scream along chorus…
8/ ‘Discover’ by OSKAR BRAVES (Dunfermline, Scotland)
Wall-of-towering-sound anthem with a monumental chorus and king-sized vocals…
9/ ‘Poets’ by THE TOWN HEROES (Inverness, Mabou, Canada)
A first-rate pop pearl, a melodic beauty, a momentous highlight…
10/ ‘A Good Guy With A Gun’ by THE BANKROBBER (Italy)
Mysterious and mystifying, another classy pop symphony from Italy…
Album: Missing
11/ ‘Baby’ by BASEMENT REVOLVER
A gripping ballad to cry your heart out to, a sad beauty for the twilight hours…
