THE FLAT EARTH SOCIETY EP

I love it when you just stumble onto something by chance and it turns out to be so cool. Carlo Barreca is a multi-instrumentalist and member of the Italian band, Fungus. He also maintains a prolific alternate musical outlet known as Zerothehero, in which he does it all himself. The short five-track collection of his current 2024 songs lasts a (sadly) too-short 15 minutes. I got into it from the first spin, and it's over before you know it. Immediately, the first song made me think of something Syd Barrett might've done had he returned to music decades later. The Flat Earth Society also reminded me of the unique and treasured solo albums that John Frusciante made in the 1990s and 2000s, things like Curtains, A Sphere in the Heart of Silence, and DC EP to name just a few. Now, Barreca doesn't sing at all, so that's a big difference, but I'm just talking about the personality and the compositional style. From jangly guitars to tons of lovely flute to cloud-summoning keys, Carlo's atmospheric gems are like little excursions that make me want to roll the windows down and drive the long mountain road. I love the moods it conjures. Carlo has a great ear for arrangements. The instruments ruminate together, but he also gives them space; sometimes he'll drop everything to allow one sound to carry the ball and look for the opening. Don't let the short running length or the "EP" label drive you away from checking this out. All five songs are delicious. A great instrumental mini-soundtrack music for your morning stroll.