Tommy Lugo is a prolific artist who divides time between the identifies of Stellarscope and Panophonic. Whilst the former covers a traditional style of shoegazing, Panophonic takes on board electronic elements. His latest free, downloadable EP is one of his more modern-sounding records and is well worth a listen.
Although I’ve enjoyed previous Stellarscope releases, the limitations of Lugo’s nasally voice sometimes undermines the song-based material. ‘Nothing To Do’ is a case in point; a decent track but one which deserves a proper singer. Thankfully, ‘Untouched In Ages’ is a largely instrumental work. The charming, melodic simplicity of guitar piece ‘Ensueño’ and enigmatic ambient number ‘Fifth Day’ reveal the impressive breadth of Lugo’s talents. As it happens, it is a vocal piece which stands out the most though as the wistful ‘Sail’ compares favourably to the recent material of Durutti Column.
Certainly Durutti Column’s Vini Reilly would be a suggested influence for Lugo’s future musical projects. Not only for Reilly’s virtuoso talents but also because Reilly isn’t blessed with the best singing voice in the world either.
Web Sites:
Download the EP from here
Panophonic MySpace
Further Listening:
Stellarscope, Durutti Column
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