Georgio “The Dove” Valentino - The Sorrows of Young Georgio 10” (Lo and Behold!)

Guest review by Corin Ashley

With artwork and a sound not entirely un-reminiscent of a Tim Burton film, this 10” vinyl features very dark, minor-key, piano-based music overlaid with muted horns, harmonium, sinister 12-string guitar, death-rattle drums, and ghoulish, somnambulist vocals that remind one of David Sylvian on ‘ludes… in a cape. The melodrama of Scott Walker-esque deep, dark vocals drenched in reverb and the droney darkness of the production do not lend to repeated listening (lest your reviewer end up on suicide watch), but “the Dove” certainly stakes his artistic claim and stands his ground.