Roman hardcore/power pop collective Feldspar take a big, bold step to prove that extreme riffage and melody can happily co-exist.  New album Soft Side demonstrates that they can.

NEVER THE FASTEST PARTS…

Does the introduction of melody compromise the message that hardcore communicates?  Some would say that it does.  But Roman hardcore/power pop collective Feldspar – and frontman Rick Zamurri in particular – argue that the two can happily co-exist.  And, with their new album, the literally-titled Soft Side, Feldspar prove their point.

Soft Side is Feldspar’s first self-release and follows their 2024 debut album, Old City, New Ruins (recorded for Time to Kill Records).  Speaking of that debut, Zamurri admits that the songs on it were written to be shouted.  Loud.    The songs looked outward in anger – at institutions, at the band’s home city of Rome and at the whole machine that the band members grew up under.  “We toured it for a year and a half and you learn a lot by standing in front of people every night,” says Zamurri.  “The parts that came back at us from the room were never the fastest parts.  They were the melodies.”

And that experience had a huge impact upon Zamurri and the band as they planned their next move.  Instead of looking outward, Feldspar focused their attentions inwardly. The songs remember friends who didn’t make it or occasions when they felt like giving up.  “Once you’re writing that kind of material, screaming doesn’t get you anywhere,” continues Zamurri.  “It just sounds like posturing.  You need a melody to carry it, because a melody is what makes someone let their guard down for long enough to actually hear the words.”

A FLUID AFFAIR

Feldspar’s lineup is a fluid affair, with Zamurri as its central hub.  The benefit of such an arrangement is that the right people can be brought in to help achieve the required mood and sound.  And, for Soft Side, the ‘right people’ included vocalists Marianne Leoni and Viviana Di Bari.  “What [their introduction] brought, more than anything, is voices,” says Zamurri.  “This record is built on voices crossing each other rather than one person out front with a band behind them. And, the more of them that you have in the room, the less any single one of them can hide.  You stop writing a vocal line and start writing a conversation.”

That dynamic is immediately evident in Heart is a Ghetto, the album’s tight, punchy opening track.  Zamurri’s gritty vocals alternate with the sweeter, poppier tones of Marianne and Viviana and the result is how you might imagine a merger of The Bangles and Slipknot would sound.  Guitars chime and resonate, the bass swoops and whoops and the drums are crisp and sharp.

GLORIOUS CACOPHONY

It’s the instruments that emphasise the blend of hardcore and melody with Good Kids. Tinkly guitars yield to heavy, heavy riffs – and vice-versa.  And I even found myself singing along to the “Good kids make their choices” refrain!  And the same model is applied to Family Man. Jangly guitars and bright vocals set a sparkly scene and the punky riffs are held under tight control.

A big, grand riff provides the propulsion for the album’s intense title track.  The mastering of the vocals gives the impression that Rick, Marianne and Viviana are fighting to be heard above the glorious cacophony. But that’s surely all part of the plan…!  And the glorious cacophony continues for the exhilarating Sweating On.  A machine gun drumbeat calls the shots for this one. The guitars are almost-but-not-quite subdued, but they break out for the “Nothing special, just yourself” chorus.

The guitars chime a rousing reveille to introduce Unsober, before the strong, heavy riffs make their return.  Once again, the drums supply the drive, as the pace switches between restraint, solid determination and a headlong pelt.

TIGHT AS A DRUM

The tuneful Slow Down would be quite poppy in gentler hands.  But, despite the melodic male and female voices playing call-and-respond, there’s no shirking in either volume or commitment.  And the spirit of the album is captured and bottled with Aberdeen, as grungy expressions of frustration are countered by melodic calls for reason and restraint.

With Iron and Velcro, Rick tells the story of someone who is desperate to shake off hometown shackles but is persuaded to stay by the love of those around him.  And the message is put across in the guise of three minutes of punchy power pop.

To conclude, Feldspar return to their point of entry.  Sort of.  Closing track Growing Concern is a final mix of grit and sugar, served up with a hefty side order of take-no-prisoners grunge.  Like every single second of Soft Side, it’s as tight as a drum.  Feldspar are, very clearly, a band that deserves to be heard.

Watch the official video to Heart is a Ghetto – the album’s opening track – below:

Feldspar: Website

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