Ron Gallo “Stardust Birthday Party”

Even though we get hundreds of requests for reviews a week it’s always a bit nice to find some new music out of the blue and from an unexpected source. In the case of Ron Gallo that was from a track catching our ear when we were watching the BBC programme “Wanderlust”. A bit of Shazaming and researching later, we were delighted to find out about this new release.

We knew from the one track we heard that we were on to something special, but that’s certainly confirmed by this release. First song “Always Elsewhere” is an instant hit to us with it’s cacophony of styles and sounds. Together with tracks like “Do You Your Company” and “It’s All Gonne Be OK” shows he has a real knack of blending influences like Punk, Electro, Indie, Rock and even a hint of dance and cabaret.

We were particularly taken by the glam stomping sound of “Prison Décor” and electro punk of “Party Tumor” which reminded us of our recent favourites White Witches (and their predecessor band, the awesome Pink Grease). Things tone down a bit with the slower and more melancholic “You Are The Problem”. On that song and “Bridge Crossers” it also reminds us of another artist we have come to love more recently, Ezra Furman.

He surely also has a radio hit in the waiting with the insanely catchy and cool “I Wanna Die (Before I Die)”. Although, to be fair, amongst all the smart writing and mixture of styles, there remains a pop coolness to songs like “Love Supreme (Work Together!)” which make them equally capable of making Ron Gallo a firm favourite of the masses.

Maybe it’s just our desire to find acts that are willing to push beyond the indie/alternative ‘standard’ sound but we are enjoying acts that are willing to throw something unusual in to the mix. Like acts such as Shilpa Ray or Hanni El Khatib, Ron Gallo just brings a sense of individuality and style which makes his music stand out. Far from drab indie rock bands this is the sound of an inventive and creative musician. It’s not very often mainstream TV introduces us to such joy so well done BBC (or at least someone involved with that series!).