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Not to be confused with two other identically-named pop outfits on Bandcamp from Tokyo, Japan and Kassel, Germany, this Pola is led by Catania, Italy composer/multi-instrumentalist Tazio Iacobacci, who previously played in Keen Toy, Tellaro, and Feldmann. He’s also created music for theatrical works and dance performances, like his 2001 composition for sextet “Rachel.” As Pola, he handles nearly all of the music, yet typically collaborates with others. On Early Songs, he’s joined by guitarist Cesare Basile and vocalists Marta Collica and (Tellaro’s) Francesco Cantone, who both sing in English. Its eight unreleased tracks pre-date his two similar-sounding, Postal Service-lite electro-folk releases, 2007’s Pola and 2010’s The Future is Bright EP; Iacobacci says this compilation was meant to “close a period of music that was concluded.” (Indeed, 2012’s aptly-named The Distortion Session EP hints at a possible stylistic shift to noisier, fuzz-encrusted indie rock.)
Though any of these tunes could have fit snugly on Pola or Future, they’re often airier and more experimental, adhering less to traditional song structures than those later records. Dreamy electronic openers “The Fade” and “Pin” feature skittish, eardrum-tickling sounds and samples that flicker around pillow-soft keyboards, melodica, and acoustic. On each, Collica coos so delicately, it’s like she’s trying not to wake a baby in the next room. As well, perhaps carrying over from his theatrical projects around this time, Iacobacci’s graceful, glimmering piano playing is more prominent. It forms the basis for half of these songs, such as the church-still tranquil, male/female duet “Genesis XVIII” and the Idaho-esque “Titles Are for Lyricist.” The LP ends with the spacious, Hammock-like (and also unfittingly-titled) “Girls,” whose peaceful, relaxed synths evoke a ship approaching a dreary, fog-enveloped harbor. As Early Songs proves, Pola’s headphone music was pacifying and pleasing right from the get-go.
