The reigning champ of Purgatorial Pop is finally back in the ring, albeit sounding a touch less murky than her trademark early recordings. Seems like an age since we last heard a proper full length from Carla Dal Forno (2022 apparently; seems longer tbh), though she's not really dipped from our thoughts, in part because of her long-standing (and vital in our eyes) monthly stint on NTS and the shadow of her influence on the host of acts that have followed in her wake/absence (all eyes on Copenhagen...). Confession is a little brighter sounding than we're accustomed to hearing from her (perhaps the relocation from Europe back to Australia helps with such things), though still somewhat of a reaffirming of old loves and, if you've listened to the aforementioned NTS show, a journey through her self-declared attachment to lo-fi/hi-emotion DIY pop. Like a lot of the great post-punk she references, there's a wonderful purity - perhaps even innocence? - to Dal Forno's writing and production that perfectly suits her now clear-as-a-bell voice, detailing broken hearts and unfortunate liaisons while drum machines skitter, synths either drone or whirr, and two note bass lines pull it along. We've heard many things like this before and since, and will no doubt hear infinite amounts more still, but what marks out Dal Forno is the detailing. The best thing you can say about Confession, in my view at least, is that it could authentically pass for some lost recording from the Golden Age of DIY, like Carol or Saskia or Skeet, even as it brings in contemporary nods to our much loved Guests and Bons. In a way, a timeless kind of underground pop music, replete with the sort of wonky charm and strange romance that there never really seems to be enough of in the world.
FFO: Carol, Saskia, Skeet, Bons, Guests
