- Moin member Valentina Magaletti and Zongamin make a fluid and effortless pair on their stellar debut record of dubby post-punk.
- Valentina Magaletti is a serial collaborator. The Italian-born, London-based drummer has worked with the post-Raime band Moin, Shit & Shine and, more recently, Holy Tongue, to name just a few of her side projects. She's also had her own bands Tomaga—with the late Tom Relleen—and Vanishing Twin with singer Cathy Lucas and bassist Susumu Mukai. It's with Mukai, AKA Zongamin, that she forms the post-punk flavoured V/Z, with a debut album on AD 93.
V/Z's sound leans more into the psychedelic indie pop of Vanishing Twin's debut album Choose Your Own Adventure. With Tomaga, Magaletti's drumming—and the sheer range of percussive sounds she used—was the main attraction. With V/Z, the focus is more open and fluid. Magaletti plays guitar and keys on most of the tracks on Suono Assente, and she shares bass, percussion and vocal duties with Mukai.
The vocals make it an easier album to get into than some of the duo's more avant-garde music, and the duo's guests bring some clear highlights. Cathy Lucas reunites with her Vanishing Twin bandmates on the dubby indie pop of "Habadash," adding a bright and catchy hook ("even in the silence I hear the sound") to the track's teary organ synth. Shrill violin crescendos and snare thwacks give Coby Sey's whispers an inflammatory edge on the haunted trip-hop leaning "Bites." The only cut that feels like a missed opportunity is the psychedelic dub of "Plants No Virtues," featuring techno producer Venus Ex Machina speaking, helium-voiced, over jagged guitar riffs and echoey shakers. In comparison to those other, more pop-structured songs mentioned earlier, it comes across like a loose and long intermission.
And while there's nothing wrong with a change of pace, it's better when it's more direct and dynamic, like on "Nail Jar"—a two-minute song that jumps through a range of percussive timbres from heavy hand drums to light metal taps and rattles, capturing the album's feel of a casual (but still inspired) studio jam. The five-minute title track is an even better example. The tight rhythm section leaves space for spritely cowbells, button-mashed typewriters and sinuous guitar melodies to all have their moment in the spotlight between verses of Magaletti's (pitched-down) spoken word.
Fans of Magaletti and Tomaga might, like me, pine for music that puts her skill as a drummer and percussionist at the forefront. But her ease of collaboration, and the ways she constantly reinvents herself, are equally impressive parts of her artistry. As V/Z, she and Zongamin are neatly aligned—neither one dominating, both in sync—allowing for shards of their own artistic personalities (and their guest vocalists) to shine through, all while keeping true to the careful and tight style of the rest of Magaletti's collaborative projects.
Tracklist01. Suono Assente
02. Candles
03. Habadash feat. Cathy Lucas
04. Bites feat. Coby Sey
05. Nail Jar
06. Plants No Virtues feat. Venus Ex Machina
07. Caffe Giallo
08. Candles (Version)