Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
Once you are done with your holiday and you are not ready to return to the humdrum of the 9 to 5 and politics of life, the only logical course of action is to see the blank space on the register as the prime source of satisfaction, that of the Absentee, the one who sees past the indoctrination of the imagined lesson, and who seizes the opportunity to deliver their own judgment, their true thoughts on the art of being missed.
It may have been a year since Emilio Pinchi delivered his Holiday E.P. to the listener’s heart and mind, but the gap the musician left in between was one of immense proportions; thankfully the hole has been filled, and in Absentee, what transpires is a set of songs that are graceful, full of insight and the art of self-sarcasm which is fully enjoyed by the crowd.
Just because someone is missing, that you cannot hear them, does not mean that they are being silent, and it is to the applause of Emilio’s graft and work ethic that between the two sets of recordings being released, he has found the time to complete a schedule of touring and support that would leave other’s breathless, and some vowing to steer clear of the studio for a considerable time.
If absence makes the heart grow fonder then Emilio Pinchi has love in abundance, and as songs such as the superb Warsaw, Moving Schools and Sleep-Debt entangle themselves within the musician-listener relationship, being absent is replaced by the full immersion of thought and the craving to show beauty; and it is a beauty that ticks the box of awareness and the relish of being attentive to the emotions that other’s crave for.
A genuinely honest set of songs, of full of life and versatility, playful, yet overwhelmingly present, the Absentee E.P. is absolutely gratifying.
Emilio Pinchi releases Absentee E.P. on November 15th.
Ian D. Hall