After releasing the gorgeous chamber pop album
In the Morning We'll Meet
, the Italian maestro
Giorgio Tuma
turned to singles as a means of experimentation and collaboration. Working with
Lena Karlsson
of
Komeda
,
Laetitia Sadier
, and
Malik Moore
Stones Throw
band
the Lions
Tuma
branched out into cabaret and reggae, before returning with an album in 2016.
This Life Denied Me Your Love
captures the experimental spirit of the singles, mixes it with
's trademark swirl of rich chamber pop sounds, and delivers a typically warm listening experience. As before,
sounds like a missing link between
the High Llamas
Broadcast
, a weird children's TV show from the late '60s, and a lonely singer strolling down the nighttime streets of Rome. Throw in some smoothly burnished soft rock (especially on the luxurious ballad "Foxes Don't Lie") and a song that would fit perfectly at the end of the saddest
Muppet
movie ("My Last Tears Will Be a Blue Melody"), then add gauzy production on many songs from Italian dream pop artist
Matilde Davoli
, and it's a slight change of pace for
. Unlike previous albums, there's a layer of reverb and effects that washes over many of the songs, giving the dreamier midtempo songs a hazy, smudged sound and giving other tracks, like the rumbling country ballad "Mountain Elia K," an almost epically cinematic feel. All the aspects of
's sound come together on "Maude Hope," the brilliant collaboration with
that sounds like a combination of every good band of the late '90s -- well
Stereolab
Spiritualized
anyway -- mashed up with an Umbrellas of Chambord outtake. It's five minutes of glorious pop and definite proof that
remains a skilled craftsman. On
, he and his collaborators (who include
Michael Andrews
of "Mad World" fame) have made something quite beautiful that's ideal late-night listening for those who fancy themselves true sophisticates and connoisseurs of the best kind of easy listening music. ~ Tim Sendra