Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever - Sideways To New Italy Review

You feel like Rolling Blackouts and Stella Donnelly must have some special Aussie guitars, as the sounds here are almost identical in their treble-driven warmth.

It’s hard to believe it’s already been three years since Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever’s first EP ‘Talk Tight’. In that short time they’ve signed to Sub Pop, put out another EP, and released two albums, really showing their growth as one of the more successful indie bands of the last three years. Sideways To New Italy could be seen as a maturation for the band that little like their first EP.

The album opens with ‘The Second of the First’, which sounds like a classic Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever track: the lush melodic bass lines sync with dreamy polyrhythmic guitar parts so typical of their work. ‘Falling Thunder’ was the first single I heard from this album and I was pretty happy with this track. The first two tracks on this record instills hope for those to come. ‘She’s There’ features some incredible lyrics such as ‘All my accidents breathe in time’. 

‘The Only One’ brings shimmering guitars that fly over one another. I also love the harmonica touch on this track. Towards the end, the guitars build up a cool riff that becomes overtaken by what sounds like a saxophone. ‘Cars in Space’ was the lead single from this record. You can really feel the emotion of the music. The riff here is probably one of Rolling Blackouts’ best, bringing you to a sunnier place. The track ends with such an incredible outro buildup as intertwining guitars scream over one another leading into the track’s climactic moment.

‘Not Tonight’ starts with quite a dark riff that is replaced immediately with the positive vibes you would expect. ‘Sunglasses at a Wedding’ is definitely one of the more sombre tracks on the album, although its peaceful acoustic guitars calm you more than they depress. You feel like Rolling Blackouts and Stella Donnelly must have some special Aussie guitars, as the sounds here are almost identical in their treble-driven warmth.

‘Sideways To New Italy’ is an album I want to love but it feels like a watered down version of their previous output. The problem with this record is that it plays it far too safe and sounds far too familiar. The sounds they are working with have been done to death, not only by originators like Real Estate and Beach Fossils but by themselves. For a band with such talent it would be great to hear them develop their sound in a more powerful way. 

There’s a definite positivity in comparison to their last records; rarely does this record feel angry the same as the earlier sounds from their first two EPs. Though I feel that whether this is a loss is listener-dependent. Another issue I have with this album is that all the songs sound the same and not in a good way. I worry Rolling Blackouts may be a victim of their own success, having released something just as good as their last record if not more intricate and thought-out, they may be heading down a route that is typical of indie bands in the same vain — such as Real Estate. However, I feel Rolling Blackouts are definitely more talented and a lot more interesting. I would hate to see this band fall into the trap of over-producing their music and losing the energy and strength that made their first few releases so good.