After years of experience in the music industry making music with top-level artists, Australian artist Palumbo decided to drop his album Tales From The Big Smoke on the 28th of July 2023. Drawing inspiration from his past musical experiences, meeting the love of his life, and living as an expat in London before and during the pandemic, Palumbo wrote Tales From The Big Smoke and co-produced it with Simon Willey (Bryan Ferry, The Great Gatsby) in Area 18 Studio (West London) & Ashley Manor Studio (Bath), while Simon contributed with his sound, synth and omnichord completing Palumbo’s work with total harmony. Let me tell you more about it.
Palumbo kickstarted Tales From The Big Smoke with Winners Grinners, a mellow tune with a groovy pace and bright melodies, making me expect a laid-back uplifting experience to come. It has an organic flow with a warm melodic sound that’ll get the listeners instantly hooked. Sweetie Song hits next with an upbeat funky pace and energetic sound. It has a dynamic structure that took Palumbo‘s mood to the next level, as its rocking guitars, playful vocals, and catchy lyrics keep the hype growing, sending cool entertaining vibes your way. With deep interesting bass and crisp flowing guitars, This House comes next. It has an irresistible groove and a big open sound with enough room for every line and element to breathe, be heard, and digested properly, all within a sweet smooth progression with seamless shifts, resulting in an easygoing emotional tune that’s one of my favorites off this record. Shoulda Coulda Woulda builds up on its predecessor’s vibes and flow, offering another warm soothing flow with heartfelt melodies and multi-layered arrangement. All this wouldn’t have happened without the cleverly done harmony between the guitars, atmospheric orchestrations, and piano that created such a mellow feel. Super Lizard pushes more in the soft emotional direction, with diverse melodies and more dynamic structure, keeping the mood intact while offering a changing pace that guarantees that the listeners stay onboard. Steering into a faster more dynamic pace, It’s Going Down comes next. It follows up with Super Lizard and adds to its flow and pace, taking the listener into a more upbeat area while still keeping the open sound and moody flow alive. When You’re Dead hits next with strong old-school ballad vibes, showing Palumbo‘s deep rocking roots. It mixes classic rock flow with modern sound and arrangements, producing a fresh multi-layered piece that adds to the record’s direction. Temporary Stone‘s heavy strumming and powerful vocal melody announces that we’re back in the rocking zone. Palumbo continues his dynamic progression with some jazzy entertaining drumming, heavy guitar chords, and catchy vocals, leading to a cool rocking solo that shook things off even more. Ancient History takes a purely acoustic approach with a deep, interesting bassline, moving drumming, and mood-setting orchestrations before steering to an energetic-kinda-alternative sound on Ezy Now. Ezy Now offers a refreshing direction as we get closer to the end of the record, it has catchy fluid melodies and a well-written and arranged multi-layered structure with flowing twists and turns and singalong moments that’d sound amazing when played live. Ending the record on a high note comes Where I’m At. It mixes Palumbo‘s diverse approaches and ideas in an easy-going flow with dreamy vibes and smooth progression that leads to you playing the record all over again from the top.
Tales From The Big Smoke is a record that shows Palumbo‘s attention to detail and sense of melody. He managed to create multiple structures and arrangements that each perfectly served his direction without compromising the record’s overall mood. Try to catch Tales From The Big Smoke‘s Launch Show at The Borland Lounge – The Joan, Penrith NSW on the 29th of July. Looking forward to more, keep on rocking. Cheers!
