Dream another dream (Rialto - Rialto)

Name: Excelle

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Product:	Rialto - Rialto
Date:	21/08/01 (91 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Varied melodies, wonderful lyrics, variety of instruments

Disadvantages: Not for all (and you may have passed on before the end of my op! Sorry about that, got carried away :( )

When you get a music collection of a reasonable size, like I have, you'll start to find that there's some CDs you hardly ever listen to. These can commonly be divided into precisely two categories – the one's that aren't very good, and that you ought to really put aside in the next car boot sale, and the ones that are good, but you always skim over in favour of something a little different. It's not a bad thing to fall into the latter category, it just means that you'll come along and dig it out later on, and enjoy it all the more for the renewed freshness of the music, and the memories it retains inside its musical exterior.

This is exactly what happened to me with Rialto today. I was digging through my CD collection (not literally – obviously!), and I came up with the Rialto album, and thought "Yes. This is just the thing I want to listen to!". And so, after a few months drought, I put the CD back in the player and remembered once again why I bought the CD in the first place. It's great to find an album like this every so often, and I was so chuffed I thought I'd put together a nice little opinion about it.

Rialto formed in 1997 from an advert in Melody Maker magazine, the group is made up of guitarist Jonny Bull and frontman Louis Eliot (previously of failed indie group Kinky Machine), their friend and bassist Julian Taylor, drummer Pete Cuthbert and Toby Hounsham. The name of the band is rather unusual, and, as it turns out, is the name of a long since defunct cinema chain. Strange indeed, but it reflects the bands love of film in all it's forms – even the soundtracks and scores. I have to admit, I'm a bit of a fan of film scores in particular, such as the works of John Williams (Star Wars, Jurassic Park, etc.) and David Arnold (Stargate), so this intrigued me a little.

This is their debut (and, to date, only) album, and it's certainly a good effort. I haven't
heard anything from them for quite a while, so I'm not sure what's going on there, but if their first album is anything to go by, I should hope they will be back soon enough! Rialto's music, while not completely unique in style, still has that certain extra something that sets them apart from the others. The lyrical qualities of the songs are probably the best part – they certainly exude a film-like atmosphere, as the words seem to weave an elaborate picture, and you can see how each part would look in a film. It's hard to describe, but that's the impression it gives me. The lyrics are wonderful, complex and well thought out, especially in the verses, and the clever uses of keyboards and guitars add to the general atmosphere the tracks produce.

So, what of the tracks themselves?

- Monday Morning 5.19
The first track on the album is probably the most well known one. While not poppy, it's certainly more catchy than the rest of the songs on the album. The gist of the story behind the song is that a boyfriend is trying to ring his girlfriend – she said she'd be in all night – and now he's having paranoid delusions that she's gone off with another man and their relationship will be over soon. It's quite dark in places, and the choral effects and strong backing drums only add to the foreboding atmosphere.

- Dream Another Dream
Another single, this one's a little lighter in tone than Monday Morning. I can't help but notice that the lyrics in this one aren't as sophisticated as a lot of the songs, and it gives the impression of being written as a single to be released. It annoys me a little in place, mainly because of the constant "Nah nah nah nah" in the background, which is OK, but it wasn't strictly necessary. It doesn't stop it being a bad song however, and it does have it's lyrical moments - "Gameshow afternoons, is that all I was born for
?/Sitting in my room, just waiting to be called for?"

- Broken Barbie Doll
This is one of the best songs on the album. It tells of a young girl who had her life all planned out, but now she's out on her own it all seems to be falling apart - "Her mother writes her every week, she says she's worried for her health/Her dad says she's finding her feet, but now she's lying on the shelf." The use of drums, slightly overdriven guitars, and a kind of childish glockenspiel in the background lend it a tragic and yet almost surreal aura, while maintaining a suitable pace.

- Summer's Over
Another great track, using guitars in conjunction with choral sounds to great effect. It sounds rather upbeat, but in reality it's more about the end of summer in a seaside town, the end of an era, possibly more for the summer romances than for the town itself. It has a lovely flowing effect to it caused by the choral effects, and this makes it really easy to listen. There's also an organ played in such a way that you get the distinct impression of the seaside.

- Untouchable
This is another of Rialto's singles, and one of my favourite tracks, I have to admit. I absolutely adore the lyrics – telling a drunken tale of trying not to let someone go, questioning why she has to leave, and drinking to forget the pain. The opening line gives you a good idea what to expect – "If you were an angel, I would cut off your wings/ To keep you with me, I would do anything". It's the guitars that make this track for me, kind of mournful I suppose, but it's more the pacey flow that I enjoy. More poppy than most, but this is no bad thing for this track.

- Hard Candy
I have to admit, I'm not as keen on this track, it's a little droney I find. The lyrics are great of course, I just feel it could have been structured around a much better melody. From what I can gather, it's m
eant to be the story of a man being messed around a woman, but in the end she can't stand his impenetrable exterior – his 'Hard Candy'. There are much better tracks on the album.

- Quarantine
Now this is a great track. It gives a film cinematic effect – solid drums and a jangly keyboard rhythmicly playing in the background. The verses can sound quite haunting in places, and it's these parts that makes the song. I can't really say exactly what the song is about, but this is it's advantage – you don't need to know. It's really the sombre outlook that makes it great.

- Lucky Number
I'm not entirely sure how to describe this track – it has a kind of weird cross between pseudo-60s and 80s mixed with a sufficient amount of 90s to make it modern. Quite simply, it's talking about someone's lucky phone number, but I'm not entirely sure what that's meant to signify, so I won't try and guess! It's a track with a fair pace to it, and it's quite surreal in places!

- Love Like Semtex
This one is quite slow and sad – the gentle guitars, lack of drums, and sentimental strings in the background give you the right feel for the start of the song, before breaking into something a little stronger later on. It's a simple story, a love lost, a relationship going down in flames where there were great plans for the future. It's sentimental, and quite saddening, and the analogy to explosives is quite well worked.

- When We're Together
Quite an eerie track this, an obsessed man stalking his loved one, tracking her every move until the time that he thinks they'll be together, when really all he has is his view of her from his position at his window or behind his newspaper. Quite well implemented one this one, not too quiet, but not so loud that it spoils the atmosphere.

- The Underdogs
A nice combination of brass, drums a
nd strings in this one, a song for those trodden down in life. "To be bitter and alone is such a dirty little job/We're jaded to our brittle bones" This one has a bit of an epic feel to it, and while it is a sad tale, it's told in a proud way, a kind of solidarity song if you will – we might be down, but we're not out yet. I like this one.

- Milk Of Amnesia
The last track is slow and gentle with some bongos, gentle choral effects and acoustic guitars. There's not much too it, kind of a 'go to sleep and forget all your worries' song. There's some lovely strings and it's a nice way to slip out of the album unnoticed.

Rialto have a fair bit of variety to them – strings, brass, guitars, some wonderful drums, and choral effects which add a little something to every song. If you hate gentle crooning, then you're not going to like Eliot's vocal style, but I find it somewhat soothing and gentle. It's a nice album to pull out every now and again, and definitely one for the collection. I've had this CD for 3 years now, and still enjoy it as much as when I first got it. I'm sure it won't be for everyone, so listen before you buy, but otherwise – enjoy!

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