LEAVER

CORDE OBLIQUE, a long lived project of Italian classical guitarist/songwriter/Renaissance man RICCARDO PRENCIPE, has habitually released singles and EPs in advance of, following, and in between full length albums, and these gifts habitually include a non-album track. Often these are of high quality, and that is again the case here.

Their 8th studio album of original material, "Cries and Whispers", is about to be issued as of this writing, and will include 2 of the tracks here, "Leaver", and "John Ruskin", dedicated to the eminent Victorian Englishmen who perhaps is one of Prencipe's role models. The latter is definitely in the mode of the newer style ushered in by "The Moon is Dry Bone" in 2020, a bit funkier initially before the shoegazing yields to the ethereal, and in a slightly longer and lower voltage version than on the album.

The title track is more traditional for CORDE OBLIQUE, a catchy yet profound ballad, boosted by the participation of SPIRITUAL FRONT, and the latest in a sequence of collaborations with kindred spirits. Along with the "Ruskin" piece, it bodes well for the upcoming set. The closer, "Chapter VII", is mostly Prencipe with classical guitar, his faithful companion that never complains even while its master bounds from one of his evolving interests to another. It's worthy of the project name, which has become quite the standard bearer for longevity in the continental neo folk scene.