There are times when I wonder why Italy seems to have more than its fair share of quality bands with Bad Love Experience - Valerio Casini, Emanuele Voliani , Gabriele Bogi, and Marco Capozzi – adding their presence to that country’s roster of notable talent.
Not for them the ways of the quirky and the obscure for Bad Love Experience are a very commercial band. That, however, does not makes them dull, uninteresting or Coldplay for all the songs on this album have an undeniable style, or to be more accurate a stylised swagger, that makes them stand out from the crowd. “Dream Eater”, for example, is so elegantly styled in its seventies pop way that you might reasonably assume that it had been produced by Giacomo Tosti. “Cotton Candy”, on the other hand, is more cabaret in its execution but, like many of the songs on the album, seems determined to evoke a particular place and time. Paris without actually being in France, if you like.
There’s even a trip into psych pop (“The Princess And The Stable Boy”) that sounds born and bred of the west coast of America and that transatlantic feel is similarly intertwined through “Samba To Hell” and “Words In The Wind”. It is not one path but many that Bad Love Experience follow but they never lose their way.
Polished and rewarding, “Pacifico” is a very commercial, album that has more than enough depth to ensure longevity in your musical attentions and Bad Love Experience are definitely another Italian band to watch out for.