In The Morning We'll Meet

Album Review

Italian indie pop smoothie Giorgio Tuma made a splash with his debut album My Vocalese Fun Fair in 2009. It was a zesty, fun, and frolicsome album filled with catchy tunes that roped in elements of pop (indie, sunshine, and summer), bossa nova, and old-time musicals. The follow-up, 2011’s In the Morning We’ll Meet, has the same sunny and melodic outlook but dials back the frolic in favor of a much more relaxed and slick sound. Where the last record sounded like it was concocted at Willy Wonka’s laboratory, this one sounds like it was written during a month-long nap beneath an umbrella on an autumn beach. The tempos are slower, the instrumentation is richer and fuller, and there is a sleepy melancholy that pervades the songs like a gentle sigh. A huge chunk of the album sounds borrowed from the High Llamas' playbook with shimmering strings, parping horns, and layers of sweet vocal harmony, and that’s not a bad place to borrow from. Like a Llamas’ record, you can lay back and let In the Morning wash over you like warm sunshine, there’s not a single jarring moment to be heard. The only time you may wonder is when the group shifts into vocal jazz mode on "Apples Rvlll," where Tuma brings in vocalist Susanna Wallumrod to croon over some lux sax and strings. It says something when the most surprising moment on an album is also the smoothest. It says that Giorgio Tuma set out to make an album to soothe the savage breast, and succeeded completely, crafting an album of subtle and satisfying charms that serve as a fine counterpoint to the inspired lunacy of his debut.