I went to see a friend perform at a school talent show a while back. The performance was fun, because she was a friend, but the music itself was pretty bad. The singer's voice was frequently off key and the tone was thin and weak. In other words, it was standard for a school's talent show.
Del Cielo is, as you would hope from a signed band, a lot better than a talent show band. Yet their vocalist, Andrea Lisi, suffers much of the same ailments that my friend's band did. Listening to Us Vs. Them is a study in bad vocal techniques. Lisi simply hasn't been taught how to produce a good tone with her voice. There are moments where her voice shines, showing potential that could be harnessed, but those are outnumbered by the negative.
It is a shame that her singing is such a distraction because the music behind it is really solid. Del Cielo is a three piece, all girls, who play indie rock. It is decently unique sounding, as if Veruca Salt and Viva Voce had a child. They can get good, solid tones from their instruments. It's really only the singing that brings this cd down.
"Scream," track ten of the cd, is definitely the best song on the album. Not coincidentally, it happens to be the only track where Lisi's vocals are good throughout the duration. It also happens to boast one of the coolest guitar solos and best arrangement of any other song on the cd. If Del Cielo could capture that for an entire album they could be the next great thing. As it is, only check out this cd if you find that the vocals don't drive you crazy.
1.5/4
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