Starving Pets

"Folk not Love" CDR

Dust Wind Tales

Genre: lo-fi, folk, singer/songwriter

Italy

June 15, 2009

Starving Pets is the solo project of Italian band Farmer Sea's Andy, who recorded this six song EP spontaneously in October of 2006. Not a bad use for a few spare mornings.

It's always a nice feeling to get my paws on one of Dust Wind Tales' limited edition treasures, and although Folk not Love isn't perfect, it's still a titillating DIY treat. Andy's quiet and breathy vocals are chronically wistful, reminiscent of Mark Linkous' calmer Sparklehorse material. The compositions are filled out by sparse guitars and keys, the latter often lending the tracks a curious spacey vibe ("Parking Lot," "Springtime in Winter"). Over the duration of the EP, Andy's singing style does begin to wear thin, and the relative homogeneity of the songs may result in listener attention levels beginning to drift. As such, this will likely be limited in its appeal to genre diehards. If you do snag one of the forty copies that exist, keep an eye out for the oddball slide-guitar folk of opener "October Lawn," the most enjoyable song on this disc.

starving pets' myspace

70%

Matt Shimmer

[Vitals: 6 tracks, distributed by the label, released 2009]