ALL MUSIC.COM (may 09)
by
François Couture
"Sleep Talking Shared", Comfort's second record, sees the
Italian band reduced to a core of two multi-instrumentalists:
drummer/guitarist/programmer Alessandro Baris and keyboardi Leonardo Chirulli. However, a string of guests appear
here and there, adding bass, flute, viola, and even a touch of vocals on one
track. Sleep Talking Shared is a finely crafted instrumental journey
that takes you from Tortoise-influenced post-rock to Cinematic Orchestra-like electro-jazz. The music is
easygoing but well composed and exquisitely arranged. Chirulli's playing on the electric piano is mellow,
atmospheric even, without losing a certain fusion-jazz-meets-Ennio Morricone feel, if that makes any sense. His
instrument provides the album's signature sound. "Shape" and
"Stammering Valves" are two strong pieces in the "active
post-rock" vein (overall, this album leaves little room for shoegazing or
introspection), while "Contemporary Nocturne" is the electro-jazz highlight
of the set, with a flute (performed by Donato epiro) that, strangely, would have fit on Maneige's Libre-Service LP. Melodic and driving, though
also ambient and richly detailed, Sleep Talking Shared is more than
enjoyable, it's promising. is a finely crafted instrumental journey
that takes you from
BLOW UP MAGAZINE (Jun 09)
by Dionisio Capuano
We have
always appreciated the band of Alessandro Baris and Leonardo Chirulli for
the skill to run away from post rock ties, a genre we mention only to give an
idea and not to ascribe the band to it, because Comfort have many
contaminations.
This new
excellent work reaches maturity and get close to models of genres but without
loosing his artistic identity.
The opening
Shape recall the 90day Men, but then
the reference point becomes the Tortoise, but is a model that Comfort surpass.
The
ensemble weaves sounds plot characterized by dynamics and above all by a rare
melodic brightness. Where the walk is
slow is a variation of a structured glitch where the Piano becomes almost
symphonic. Florian is a fake sort of
dub brightening of self-styled vibes surrounded by a voice of synth. Iceberg is an unlikely memory of the
Yes, recovered by the piano and by the guitar from Donato Epiro.
The record
has a perfect equilibrium between acoustic and electronic where structures
pervade into each other (Contemporary
Nocturne) and the sound is deep and surprising as showed by the whipping and
fluent ending tune He Moves His Head Back.
A no return point for italian waves and not only. (8)
THE SILENT BALLET.COM
(jun 2009)....
by Lucas Kane
I'll admit it – I've got a bias when it comes to the
post-rock + electronica combo. Look, I love Tortoise
as much as any other nerd who thinks post-rock was done better in the 90's, but
I've always found groups like the much-revered 65 Days of Static
to be a tad overrated, as if everyone just forgot that rock+electro was the
“big sound” of the last decade and smothered videogames, sports programming,
movies, and damned near every other form of media until we were all sick to
death of it. I mean, Orgy did rock+electro, and that should
be enough to convince anyone that it isn't a criteria ensuring artistic genius.
65 and co. are decidedly better than electro-nu-metal made for lip gloss
commercials, fo sho, but, in general, I've always been of the opinion that most
of the groups that attempt the fusion think that the gimmick is enough.....
Thankfully, ....Italy....'s Comfort
have realized that the gimmick is not enough, and come packing real songs to go
with their pleasant textures. In general, the sound of Sleep
Talking Shared is often reminiscent of, yep, Tortoise circa TNT,
but how could that be a bad thing? Dare I say, it serves as a nice compliment
to the admittedly more experimental Beacons of Ancestorship,
but Comfort have a bit more going on than pure hero worship.....
Like you-know-who, the secret to Comfort's success
begins with a weapon that's almost become a dirty word in post-rock circles:
musicianship. They don't quite rise to Motion Turns It On-level
pyrotechnics, but they could – it's just not their goal. Comfort cruises in a
more clinical, chilled-out vein, with the myriad influences their sound
suggests – krautrock, Floyd, 70's soundtracks, the gentler
side of IDM – gently channeled into an approach that's as seamless as it is
diverse. Unlike so many bands attempting a synthesis of the real and the
programmed, it can be difficult to tell the two apart unless you're really
listening. The electric piano contributes to some of the blurriness, but it's
really just that the sounds chosen for their palette compliment each other so
well that you might forget to listen. One often gets the impression that the
band – really, just the trio of multi-instrumentalists Alessandro Baris (drums,
guitar, computers), ..Leonardo
Chirulli.. (piano, synths, more computers), and Fabio Elia
(bass, and you guessed it: computers) is jamming with some virtual set of
programmed counterparts like a well-oiled jazz machine. They're jamming with
more than that, however, as they also weave a large host of collaborators (on
things like viola and flute) into their smooth sound.....
Comfort's other virtue is their sheer consistency;
everything's of a piece here, despite the differences in approach from song to
song. What this means is that there aren't really highlights, but here are my
favorite moments: the gentle, pulse of “Where the Walk is Slow,” where the bass
works as an anchor for the keys, electronic loops, and washes of ambient sound;
the glitchy drum programming and plaintive viola of The Missed
Environment" that reminds of nothing so much as The
World on Higher Downs; the cheesily awesome soundtrack flutes
in “Concreto E Indefinito” (my 70's flute-scape association is Lone
Wolf and Cub, and anything that makes me think of this is gold in
my book); the confidently subtle note of jazz-rock with which “He Moves His
Head Back” ends the album. These moments aren't really better than the rest,
they're just my favorites, and each listener will surely take his or her own
group of moments away with them.Sleep Talking Shared
is not without a misstep – penultimate track “Organic Deca-Dance” is a
mostly-wasted four minutes of early Autechre pastiche
and pointless vocal samples that goes nowhere, but one botched experiment on an
album this solid is a forgivable hiccup.....
Comfort won't win any originality points with this,
their sophomore effort, but that's OK – very few bands are doing this sort of
thing well enough for that to matter. Forty minutes of intelligent, dexterous
jazzy rocktronica is the order of the day on Sleep Talking Shared,
and, to these ears anyway, it's a welcome sound. No crescendos, no tremolo,
just thoughtful songwriting and the musical chops to match.....
.. ..
TINYMIXTAPES.COM (aug 2009)
by Joe Hemmerling
Comfort
is yet another fine discovery from Belgian experimental label Off. The
band’s core is an Italian trio — Alessandro Baris, Fabio Elia, and
Leonardo Chirulli — who use both live and electronic instrumentation to
create lush compositions that marry ambient soundscapes with more
traditional post-rock instrumental dynamism. Though Sleep Talking Shared
is notable for its tranquility, there is a staggering diversity in mood
and texture from song-to-song. Equally impressive is the concision of
its tracks, all of which fall between three and five minutes. Quiet and
gentle as the album, the succinct quality of the individual songs gives
the whole thing a sense of immediacy that similar albums lack.
Like the best of the Off stable — Strings of Consciousness and
Colorlist, for example — Comfort excels at creating wordless
compositions that evoke real human drama. It’s music that tells a
story, or perhaps more accurately, it’s music that prompts the listener
to construct a story. My favorite piece is the quietly ominous “The
Missed Environment.” The first minute-and-a-half consists of little
more than an ambient pulse and some muted percussion, which are
suddenly interrupted by a hissing tape loop of violin playing. The
effect is truly ghostly, like a scratched record playing endlessly on a
gramophone in the basement of a condemned house. Contrast this with
“Where the Walk Is Slow,” a soothing, keyboard-driven lullaby. The
twittering electronics and soft, throbbing beats could be the sound of
insects chirping or a flowing stream.
If there’s one flaw in the album, it’s that the whole thing is a
little front-loaded. The last four tracks are all good enough on their
own, but none manage to summon the same kind of wonder or atmospheric
density as early installments like “Shape” or “Iceberg.” Still, Comfort
manages an incredible feat with Sleep Talking Shared. They
craft quiet, subtle compositions without ever wandering into elevator
music territory. Easy listening has never been so rich or rewarding.
RUMORE MAGAZINE (jun 2009)by Vittore Baroni
Comfort
have precise ideas conducted by Alessandro Baris, Leonardo Chirulli e
Fabio Elia; active since 2000 and started out with “Eclipse” in 2006. The
new cd “Sleep Talking Shared” express
itself with a mature language, using the technical skill of the best “new prog”
and “new classical” for contemporary rock forms; sometimes nervous and dragging
(Shape) as well as cinematic (The Missed Enviroment) or delicates and
wrapping (Florian, Iceberg).
Definitely to regard!
EXCLAIM.COM (may 09)
By Eric Hill
Groups that decide to combine the acoustic and the
electronic in their work generally draw heavily from one and add the other as
an afterthought. Italian duo Alessandro Baris and Leonardo Chirulli take
a much more balanced approach. On the rock side their bass/piano/drums
framework is as complex and far-reaching as any Tortoise jazz/rock essay.
Rather than resting on this level tracks like "The Missed
Environment" rework the script to include microtonal violin loops, hissing
electronic percussion and synth textures. While it calls to mind works by
Crescent or Radian, Comfort's sound is much more expansive and not as dry.
Tracks like "Florian" and "Iceberg" successfully combine
hints of classic '60s soundtracks, '70s European jazz and modern digital
effects in one cool, detail-rich flow. And though their scope is broad and
guests many the duo are careful to let the instruments breathe and the silences
matter. There is no abused space and each track comes with a fresh new secret
waiting to be discovered.
SUPERMIZZI.COM (may 2009)
by Guido Siliotto
The new
Comfort album, following the applauded “Eclipse”, shows how the band has took 2
years off to take consciousness of his own capabilities and to release a form
more rich than in the past.
Textures
are more linear now like showed by the overall opening track; inside these
textures, the jazz improvising approach contributes to create the right dose of
emotions. Electronic dominates the scene in other tunes giving more dynamics
and showing the skill of the band to manage the compositions in a refined way
not only for what concerns the arrangements. The result is a record rich of
context that deserves attention and it confirms the band as a great musical
reality.
POP REVUE EXPRESS (may 2009)
by WiuthouWithout belonging to a genre we can say that Comfort’s second record is
placed at the cross between contemporary jazz and electronic. The music is
based on ambience with a cinematic side that provides nice roundness and gives
a concrete aspect to songs. “Sleep
Talking Shared” is extremely melodic and very agreeable to listen to and
confirms the good quality of the label “OFF” and will not delude the fans of
genres’ fusion.
OCTOPUS (may 2009)
by Laurent Catala
An Italian duo of sounds manipulators with a great
skill conceiving dark cinematic ambiences (“where
the walk is slow”) as well as elliptical combinations post-rock on a magic
piano layer (“Shape”); Comfort is a
band hard to catalogue and this is what “Sleep
Talking Shared” shows.
This second record goes from a silky and meditative
universe (“Florian”) to layers of
mysterious field recordings (“concreto
indefinito”) or into nubby microscope sounds (“organic decadance” ) till it goes back to the art of melodic
guitar’s weaves (“He moves his head back”). Maybe hard to follow but easy to appreciate.