Album review – Soleado: a tribute to Siesta Records by Various (2021) (Fadeawayradiate Records)
Picture this…The 1970s. Huge yachts. Smooth lothario men with Tom Sellick style hirsute chests, massive sideburns and tight speedoes, standing on deck, surrounded by beautiful Greek Islands and even more beautiful women. Fruitful attempts are being made to hang on to the last remants of all that was free about the 60s and fun is being had by absolutely all, perhaps with the exception of the man in the tiny wooden fishing boat, in the corner of the picture.
Obligatory pretty girls in summer dresses, frolicking on golden sands with perfect smiles and ‘too skinny’, heroine chic figures, complete it the visual. All that is missing from the holistic scene, is a perfect soundtrack of smooth, indie-chic, retro cool…Enter Siesta Records. Enter the superb musical retro music connosieurs of Estella Rosa and her Amsterdam based, Fadeawayradiate Records, to provide this compilation and complete the perfect retro picture.
For Madrid’s, Siesta Records, were a label that were 80% sophistication and 20% indie-pop cool and this lovingly compiled compilation, not only shows Rosa’s genuine love for the label (just read her enderaing words in the album release bio on Bandcamp) but also captures this balance perfectly.
The best of the release is undoubtedly the ‘smoothest’ of the tracks. Here Starry Eyed Cadet – Bubbles (originally The Free Design), Love, Burns – Crush The Flowers (The Wake), The Very Most – Just Follow (Holiday) and The Hepburns – Willy Whispers (Scarlett’s Well), guarantee that the original, salacious, sophisticated suave of the labels’ signature sound is rendered with absolute perfection, whilst still ensuring that the track vibe is always decidedly different to the original.
The historical ‘ability’ of the artists that appear on these regular Fadeawayradiate Genre compilations (this is actually the first from FAR extolling a label) to achieve such a perfect equilibrium, remains omnipresent here.
When not dripping in gorgeous smoothness, tracks such as TheCatherines – Sun (Margo Guryan) and Rosa’s very own interpretation (from her band Nah) of The Waving Tree’s, On A Sunday Afternoon, are everything that forces lazy jounalistic hacks (we prefer to call ourself ‘bloggers’) to describe the aesthetic “as the Sarah Records sound”, whereas the fringes of beautful psyche infused jangle-pop are offered in Even As We Speak – And I Love Her (Fantastic Something) and Feutre – Sunday Morning (Margo Guryan).
Another absolute winner from this ‘all about the music’ label. Grab a digital copy on a ‘name your price’ basis, here.
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