Vitaminic review The Longed-for Season

We’d love it if you could contribute a good translation in the comments.
When The Clouds è la sorpresa di questa settimana. Ascolterò e riascolterò il suo disco a prescindere dalla recensione, lo metterò tra i preferiti, in quella categoria taggata elettronica in cui ci sono, si parva licet, Lali Puna, Moby, Mùm, ISAN. The Longed-For Season è un ep tutto sommato ricco – siamo sui trenta minuti – un concentrato di suoni intensi e familiari, rotondi e morbidi come un grassetto, eppure ruvido e pungente come il fiore in copertina. C’è molto, ci sono immagini e lomografie, in un repertorio di tonalità che spazia fino a toccare i margini del postrock (Mogwai), costruendo, così, quadri disarmanti per profondità e intenzione. I brani sono posati, riflessivi, ma senza correre il rischio, neppure per un attimo, di apparire pesanti. Ma quello che sorprende è che queste atmosfere, così stranianti e, in qualche modo, fredde, vengano da Salerno che – senza cadere ovviamente nel cliché dei meridionalismi – non è propriamente una città che, personalmente, richiama i paesaggi sonori presenti nel disco. Ed è proprio vero che oggi non esistono più – o esistono poco, di meno – gli ambienti reali come contesto decisivo nella produzione di qualcosa, dal momento che non è necessario vivere in Islanda per avere – ed è il caso di When The Clouds – gran parte delle suggestioni dei Mùm, per esempio. Tecnicamente, poi, la scelta dei timbri è davvero impeccabile – a parte, forse, degli archi un po’ troppo epici nel primo pezzo – con del noise che accoglie e cuce armoniche, bits, glockenspiel, synth e tanto, tanto altro. Su sei pezzi, inutile fare delle citazioni; diciamo che Rise On è quella che mi piace di più, e via. When The Clouds è il moniker di Francesco Galano e The Longed-For Season  è il suo ep di debutto. Applausi.

original review

everythingischemical reviews “The Longed-For Season”

"The Longed For Season" is When The Clouds debut release. The music within is melancholy Post Rock with electronics intertwined as well as a few other lush/atmospheric stratiforms. The overall vibe is a soundtrack to a nice breezy day where your worries are no longer an issue.

full review

The Silent Ballet review The Longed-for Season

Good things come to those who wait, and some of us have been waiting for years to buy Francesco Galano’s physical format debut. This Italian artist, who records as When the Clouds, was introduced as one of our Rising Stars back in June 2008. A year later, we were pleased to learn that he’d been signed by Drifting Falling. A few months ago, “The Dawn and the Embrace” graced our 14th compilation. And now, finally, The Longed-for Season has arrived.

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Paperblog reviews The Longed-for Season

The first person to contribute a good translation in the comments wins a free copy of The Longed-for Season.
Mazette ! Ça fait combien de temps que j’ai plus accroché sur un album d’inspiration post-rock ? A part les indétrônables Canadiens de Do Make Say Think, j’avoue ne plus trop m’intéresser au style. Puis hop, je suis tombé sur cet EP de When The Clouds. Charmant, charmant. Un post-rock simple et bien foutu accompagné d’une électronique espiègle proche de Mùm. Sympathique a priori non ?

Respect avant tout à Francesco Galano, l’unité motrice de ce projet. Car When The Clouds n’est pas un groupe comme on pourrait le penser à son écoute, mais bien un projet solo. Guitare, glockenspiel, basse, harmonica, électro, cordes, mellotron, le gars passe allégrement d’un instrument à l’autre avec aisance.

Ce qui fait le charme de ce six titres c’est son mélange réussi entre post-rock et electronica. Bien que notre ami transalpin n’innove pas vraiment dans le genre, on peut toutefois le féliciter pour la maîtrise dont il fait preuve. “The Longed for Season” (Drifting Falling – 2010) est la première réalisation de Francesco et j’espère qu’il arrivera à faire son trou tout comme ses compatriotes de Port Royal.

original review

Textura reviews When the Clouds

Francesco Galano makes an auspicious debut with his half-hour When The Clouds EP The Longed-For Season. The Salerno, Italy-based producer has been involved in music-making since the age of thirteen and issued his first demo in 2004 under the name Eid Ethyca. The six preternaturally assured settings that constitute his Drifting Falling coming-out exude no shortage of finesse and pastoral charm, with Galano uniting acoustic instruments (glockenspiel, guitar, bass, piano) and electronic sounds into melancholic and graceful wholes. Though textural enhancements are present, they’re used judiciously so as to serve the melodic framework of the track in question. The focus, in short, is on melody first and foremost, and specifically quietly euphoric melodies at that. Averaging about five minutes in length, every one of the six instrumentals is song-length too.

full review

Leonard’s Lair reviews The Longed-For Season

If anyone thought shoegazing and post-rock was becoming a less important art form, no one told Drifting Falling who have been putting out superior releases for the last couple of years. An addition to that list is Francesco Galano and his new recording under the name of When The Clouds.

full review

The Longed-For Season is a P*Dis weekly pickup

The Longed-For Season was highlighted as a weekly pickup at P*Dis. An honor from such a standout organization.

p*dis inpartmaint - weekly pickup - when the clouds

When the Clouds – The House of Sleep

The The House of Sleep  is the 6th and final track from “The Longed-For Season”. Out Tuesday April 20th. Preorder from n5MD.

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When the Clouds – The Place Where The Path Leads

The Place Where The Path Leads is the 5th track from “The Longed-For Season”. The new album is out April 20th, but you don’t have to wait.  You can order it now through n5Mailorder.

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When the Clouds – November Song

The fourth track from The Longed-For Season is called November Song.  Preorder from n5MD.

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