by Dan Goldin (@post_trash_)
Joey Agresta has long been at the heart of Vermont's DIY scene. If the name doesn't seem familiar perhaps you know him better as Joey Pizza Slice or Son of Salami and his love of manipulated tape weirdness. Let's Not Talk About Music is the first release under his own name, a deliberate change of pace that is both personal and full of outward reflection. The album, recorded in Agresta's bedroom studio, is full of depressing meditations delivered with a sense of fun and and hope for the future. The mix of overbearing sadness and the desire for change brings the songs to life, a vibrant contradiction that is never lost throughout Agresta's warm analog warble.
While much of the album is spent in the depths of human emotion, "Baby Girl" could be a mantra for happiness, or a reflection to cherish those you love while they are around... or maybe it's about loss and longing for what once was. Teetering between fun times and sadness as it may, the song is certainly infectious and catchy in its simplicity, a sweet and sour pop tune that I'm certainly overthinking. Built on a bed of lush synths and a clackity rhythm, Agresta wonders about his "baby girl" and how she's doing. It's lulling and gorgeous, a breezy stroll through memory lane.
Joey Agresta's Let's Not Talk About Music is out May 12th via Wharf Cat Records.