Jeff's Staff Pick: May 11, 2023

What’s up Sorry Staters?

Last night was killer. So good meeting our new homies in Lasso. They absolutely killed at the Fruit last night in Durham. I’m feeling a little fried today post intake of MD 20/20 and tequila. Had a good time, though. We’re gonna do it all again on Friday in Norfolk. Woohoo!

I feel the storm of life getting busy with gigs on the horizon already. I’m prepared for a fun and exhausting summer. Public Acid has some cool gigs in June, including a rad event in Minneapolis hosted by Thrasher Magazine. I can’t wait to see Tony Trujilo, Elijah Berle and Lizzie Armanto shred during the day and then go rip a killer gig with Electric Chair that night. Insane. Then we got boss hawg Jim’s fest in Philly. And THEN, Meat House just announced we’re playing a few gigs in the Midwest at the end of the month going into July. Hoping our new record will be out by then. It’s gonna be rad.

Alright, let’s talk about records:

I keep on thinking I’m going to be writing about a new release in the world of hardcore for my staff pick. Alas, here I am talking about yet another pop record, but it’s all connected! I had a vague awareness of this group Nuovo Testamento, mainly because I knew that Giacomo from Tørsö was involved. Their new record, Love Lines, just arrived at Sorry State. I decided to crack a copy open and give it a shot. And I have to admit, it was really difficult for me not to love it. In my mind, I imagined Nuovo Testamento sounding kinda goth. It’s not. It’s like total synth-drenched pop music. When I listen to the songs on this record, everything about it from the synth melodies to the vocal hooks to the production sounds so familiar that I almost question whether it’s exactly like something I’ve heard before. But I think that’s just because they happen to totally nail this very particular brand of 80s synth pop they’re clearly trying to emulate. It’s like they went into the studio where Miami Sound Machine recorded all those 80s hits and simply dusted off the same synthesizers and electronic drum pads used in 1985. It recalls all the hits produced by Stock Aitken Waterman. Total freestyle or HiNRG vibes goin’ on. As much as I expected to hear a record that sounded like Siouxsie & The Banshees, I think Love Lines comes across more like an album by Samantha Fox or Kylie Minogue. People out there probably reflect on this period of 80s pop music as sounding dated or cheesy, but I think Nuovo Testamento does not care. They are dedicated to this sound.

There were already a few music videos for songs off of this record uploaded on YouTube. I half expected to see some neon dayglo colors and like… I dunno, like scrunchies or something. Because when I listen to this record, I’m instantly transported to a rollerskating rink during a romantic couple’s skate. I’m talkin’ disco ball, crimped hair, the whole nine. It pulls on that nostalgic emotional feeling of when you would coyly try to sneak glances at your middle school crush across the room while she was chewing bubblegum leaning up against a pinball machine. Imagery wise, Nuovo Testamento presents a much cooler vision than what my mind conjures. We’re talking moody blue lighting and smoke. Hot people in leather dancing. Were they dripping wet? I can’t remember. Maybe I’m just imagining that. It’s funny to see decidedly punk looking people who I know are connected to the hardcore scene looking tough, walking the streets, but then paired with this music. My man Giacomo is slamming those hexagonal synth drum pads while dressed like a member of Sick of It All… well, either that or a member of Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation.

When I listen to this record, I feel like if it was released in 1987, Nuovo Testamento would have been in regular rotation on MTV. The singer Chelsey in another universe could have an 80s pop star, but she’s got decidedly cooler style than Tiffany. The way she navigates vocal melodies is like surgically perfect, simultaneously channeling the coolest singer from your obscure post-punk collection, but then also like… Madonna. And then lyrics… Given the album title, I feel like the lyrics are thematically based around love and relationships in a manner that, for better or worse, don’t exist in our current cultural reality. Intentional or not, maybe this falls more in line with the prophetic expression of love you would find in a lot of 80s synth pop. Whether with demanding confidence or earnestly pleading vulnerability, she belts things like “Show me your emotional siiiide!” It’s awesome.

If you’re trying to hit the rollerskating rink/arcade any time soon, then hit my line. All jokes aside, I think this record is incredibly well-crafted and a super enjoyable listen. Put aside your pretensions about lovey dubby synth pop and give into the best pop record since “You Spin Me Round” by Dead Or Alive. No sarcasm there. That song bangs. So does Nuovo Testamento.

Anyway, hope you had fun reading that one. That’s all I can muster this week.

‘Til next week,

-Jeff