Speed Of The Stars: While Italy Dreamed…

(Easy Action Records)

Out Now

Following the 2023 vinyl release of their debut album, Steve Kilbey of The Church and Frank Kearns of Cactus World News return with a brand-new Speed Of The Stars longplayer While Italy Dreamed…

For the album, drummer Barton Price (Models, Divinyls) and guitarist Hugo Race (Nick Cave’s Bad Seeds, True Spirit), who also produced the album.

Mixed by Ted Howard (renowned for his work with The Church), who imbues the record with an ethereal atmosphere that both elevates its expansiveness and preserves its intimacy, the bands feel for restraint and beauty whines across the record.

“To me it’s a journey through Italy in no particular linear or temporal way,” says Steve Kilbey. “It takes in Percy Shelley and Mr Bellini and the Mad Poet and Puccini and all the trains and the lakes and cities and the marble-tipped mountains of Tuscany. It begins with the arrival of the Englishman and travels through tempestuous love affairs and strange episodes and adventures and winds up like all good operas with everything reconciled and all put to rest. I trust you will enjoy what we have prepared for you with this record during those magical two weeks in the houseboat on the lake in Italy.”

Opening with a transcendent, dreamlike introduction in Line Check, the album eases into a wash of synth pads before elegantly sliding into track 2, The National-esque blend of synths and acoustic guitars on Inglish. Moody, emotive, and sonically affecting, the track unfolds through on-the-nose lyricism and half-spoken vocals, weaving into a layered soundscape of ambient textures: gentle acoustic guitar, delicate brushed drums, and swelling e-bow lines. It dissolves into field recordings of underground train stations and fading guitars, carrying forward the track’s dark yet beautiful atmosphere.

Drifting once more into the unearthly atmosphere of Alluvial Groove, the band showcase more of the acoustic textures over, delicate live drums and ethereal synths which stylise the band’s sound. Bringing elegant, warming production which takes organic and synthetic sounds and gives them a sense of belonging, authenticity and cinematic width.

Elsewhere across the 11 track, Now U See It brings a more direct sense of energy and drive, Prosecco On Ice emphasises the more atmospheric side of the band’s sound ultimately conjuring comparison to the likes of Talk Talk, Radiohead and David Sylvian.

The sparse psychedelic textures of MR.Bellini and beautiful guitar textures of An Imagined Child shine bright later into the album, delivering some stunning musicality against the reversed piano and experimental elements. These melancholic moments contrast against the unsettling, discordant feel of Sheol and dark haze of Tragedy. Closing track Sumblima is a fittingly ethereal, cinematic and emotive climax to the album, bringing beautiful guitar, piano work over the grounding bass and somewhat epic, low tempo drums. Comparable in part to Bon Iver’s Beth Rest, the track closes with a final, hypnotic wash of distant vocals and synth emphasising the electronic, chillout elements of the bands sound in a final beautiful, glitching and beautifully otherworldly flourish.

While Italy Dreamed… is a remarkable body of work, drifting from track to track like a dream while fully embracing its rich sonic landscapes and textural detail. It is at once restrained, intimate, and tender, yet simultaneously cinematic, psychedelic and expansive. Blending poetic lyricism with atmospheric instrumentation, and brought to life by a lineup of musicians whose pedigrees span some of alternative music’s most enduring acts, the album achieves a rare balance of subtlety and grandeur.

Evoking vivid, dreamlike vistas and moments of poignant stillness, Speed Of The Stars have created a record that lingers long after its final notes dissolve.

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All words by Simon Lucas-Hughes. More writing by Simon Lucas-Hughes can be found at his author’s archive.