Album Review: Giulia Millanta - Only Luna Knows

 

www.giuliamillanta.com

Back in 2021 these pages hailed an introduction to Giulia Millanta's music: 'an imaginative and stimulating album'. Forward three years and this Austin-based artist has built upon a lofty assertion by spinning their wares in a parallel world. Millanta has chosen a bi-lingual route for the first time unveiling a sumptuous take on purring vocally through her Italian first language. The native tongue intermingles with English along a celestial landscape brimming with evocative sounds. ONLY LUNA KNOWS is roughly equal split on the linguistic front with the moon providing a constant thread alongside supremely crafted musicianship chiselling an emotive hollow for sultry vocals to blossom. 

While a narrow preceptive language horizon is often the case for English speakers, there can be an exotic glint when other tongues come to the fore leaving ample space for the imagination to spark into life. Four tracks are entirely in Italian and you get a sense of the theme in their titles: 'Luna, la Follia', 'Chiar di Luna', 'Luna lo Sa' and 'Mi Chiamava Lulu'. The bi-lingual feature permeates the opening track, where a slowed down spaghetti western feel leads the listener into the world of 'Fatale'. This track beds in after a few plays with layers of different instrumentation accompanying Millanta warming up her musical chops. 

The album title track commandeers the middle ground with 'Only Luna Knows' courting smart ears with a deftly delivered song. The writing credits link this solely to Millanta among a few co-writes and alongside a borrowed and re-interpreted piece. The name Gabriel Rhodes jumps out on the credits, known for his work with another Austin legend - his mother Kimmie. One of the tracks used to promote the album is the strongly messaged 'I Dance My Way' leaving a memorable lilt as it fades out. Another pick from the collection is 'Stormy Night in Paradise' with all the trappings cultivated in the production hotbed of Austin, although this particular album was recorded in Tuscany and blends two worlds through its participants and location. 

Sources list this as Giulia Millanta's ninth album. The reach began to widen on release number's seven and eight - TOMORROW IS A BIRD (2020) and WOMAN ON THE MOON (2022) - creating a momentum for ONLY LUNA KNOWS to launch from a name becoming increasingly familiar. The direction may be slightly different, but the impact is boosted by a warm cloak of diversity. 

Album Review: Heather Little - By Now

The association immediately to jump out when exploring the musical world of Heather Little is Lori McKenna. A few more miles down the track and the names may be placed together in the songwriting pantheon. Without jumping too far ahead, the first task is to wrap your ears around a rare and beautifully cultured album putting a marker down to what this native Texas can do as a recording artist. BY NOW navigates a path into the open world via the Need to Know Music label and presents thirteen preceptive tracks wrapped in the poignant honesty accustomed with the serious songwriting underpinning country music in its finest robes. 

A quick scan down the track listing reveals a song from the vaults launched to stardom via the rise of Miranda Lambert. Heather Little was the co-write of the mid 2000s hit 'Gunpowder and Lead'. A decade and a half later, a dusted down version containing an extra verse gets a reboot courtesy of the capable hands of violinist and vocalist Van Plating, who joins a host of other players helping Little bring her talents to the fore. 

Possibly the most notable artist lending their vocal talent is Patty Griffin. The legendary singer-songwriter helps out on two numbers with 'Hands Like Mine' and  'This Life Without You' being highly personally themed akin to much of the inspiration driver for Little. The album wastes little time adopting a raw stance with opening track 'Five Deer County' being amongst the standout candidates from a viewpoint of pouring scorn on missing loved ones. 

With a Miranda Lambert smash hit in the mix, it has taken an extremely strong song to prove the pick of the record with that honour going to the sublime melody-powered track 'Better By Now'. If this song portrayed self-doubt, this is some misplacement as the result is hugely listenable. Lyrics are an essential part of Heather Little's creative crusade and some of the album's most astute ones reside in 'Transistor Radio' where the digital age is lamented in the context of things that really matter. 

There is an awful lot to digest in this hour-long album, probably due to there being so much to say. There is an element of fate for Heather Little to step out of the shadows and push a fine bunch of songs so personally delivered. You sense integrity, sentiment and brunt honesty running through each track with compelling evidence that sometimes the source is the best conveyor of a truly touching song. BY NOW is a collection yearning the listener to return to time and again. An activity to relish for all junkies of a sincerely spun country song.