Search - Black Heart Procession :: Amore Del Tropico

The best?and darkest background music around

joshua m davis | alton, md | 01/02/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"From their impressions of a southwestern Afghan Whigs to their mimicry of Concrete Blonde and Beat Happening, The Black Heart Procession are making some of the best-and darkest background music around. From the Hitchcock-ready piano driven slink of "The Invitation" to the ghostly howls heard on "Tropics of Love," BHP seemed poised to make the hippest horror movie soundtrack you've ever heard. Their lyrics are less poetic than simple narration of something wicked this way coming. Paulo Zappoli taunts the listener, "did you not see / wasn't it clear...the signs on the road...the writing on the wall," while percussionist Joe Plummer pounds away at what sounds like a broken snare drum stuck in a bathroom stall. Zappoli and fellow multi-instrumentalist Tobias Nathaniel add layer after layer of chirping organs and pulsating synthesizers instead of going the usual verse-chorus-bridge highway. The end result is a sort of undead Yo La Tengo-if that makes any sense. Picture hoards of classic movie monsters laboriously jamming with Lou Reed and David Bowie in an abandoned amusement park just before Scooby and the Mystery Machine gang arrive.Call it post-gothic or The Cure gone convincingly trip-hop. Whatever it is-it certainly isn't music to listen to in daylight. Rather, it's the perfect album for a newly opened opium den, or maybe the last song in a Roman Polanski or Darren Aronofsky film. It's good stuff-but it's not for the faint of heart."

A Murder Scene Through the Lenses

K. Franklin | Yonkers, NY | 10/25/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Something went wrong on the ballroom dance floor. Mysterious and cinematic in nature, The Black Heart Procession's Amore del Tropico carries the feeling of an old movie at the brink of a murder scene. Highlights in this album are "Tropics of Love," a seducing salsa-meets-jungle song; "Broken World," a tale of hopelessness and ultimate sadness within a world gone mad; and "Fingerprints," which parallels crime evidence to the aftermath of a love affair. Genre-wise, I'd put the group vocally and often stylistically in tune with Radiohead, with a cynical romantisism comparable to Fiona Apple. You'll never hear these guys sing about the butterflies of a first kiss; their version of love is that of conquest and anguish. The Black Heart Procession's Pall Jenkins (vocals, guitar, synths) and Tobias Nathaniel (piano, guitar, organ) are from San Diego, but the album's influences range from South America to southern America, often encompassing old saloon melodies combined with modern trip-hop flavors. A refreshing style."

Junkmedia Review - A large stride forward

junkmedia | Los Angeles, CA | 02/21/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The name says it all. The Black Heart Procession's music is about heartbreak and loss, and on their previous three albums most of the music has provided apt atmospherics for the depressing lyrics. But then there were always a few gems where they let loose and threw some rhythm and tempo into the mix. These were the songs that stood out and hinted at what these guys were capable of, and ultimately kept us listening. On their new album, Amore Del Tropico, the Black Heart Procession begins to deliver on the promise of their previous efforts. After a very brief intro, the title track "Tropics of Love," kicks in, and it's immediately clear that the Black Heart Procession have expanded their horizons. Most of the painful dirge is gone; in its place are lush arrangements, complete with percussion that borders on Latin at times. The real linchpin of the Black Heart Procession is talented multi-instrumentalist (guitar, piano) Tobias Nathaniel. He's a breath of fresh air in an age when your average indie rocker spends more time getting his/her hair just right than learning to play his/her instrument. Nathaniel's talents provide the foundation for Amore, and his piano lines figure in more prominently than ever (as they should). But the musical blossoming here goes even further. It's clear that a lot of thought went into this album. Beautiful string arrangements weave in and out of the mix, as do synthesizer and organ, surf guitar, whispers, female backing vocals and their trademark non-standard instruments, the saw. This is an ambitious project, made all the more astounding when you consider that Black Heart Procession recorded and produced it all themselves. Songs like "Invitation" and "Sympathy Crime" come close to Pink Floyd watermarks for a band with a sliver of Floyd's recording budget. Sounds great, right? More rhythm, less depression, all pulled off with an expert eye towards the craft of making and recording music. This is all true, but the overall tone is still that of the Black Heart Procession. This is not party music. Even when the songs are more uptempo, the key is still minor, and the lyrics are still about heartbreak and loss. Well, supposedly, the lyrics here all tie together into some type of narrative, but the common thread isn't cohesive enough to follow. And Pall Jenkins' voice will always be an acquired taste, even though he's starting to find a better balance between his trademark nasally drone and his more mellow baritone vocals. The Black Heart Procession is a truly original band, and Amore Del Tropico is a large stride forward for them, a reminder and a promise of their potential. And although they will not win over legions of zany fans and groupies anytime soon, they are still one of the most exciting prospects out there for people who like their music dark, moody and mysterious. J. Halterlein
Junkmedia Review"