"Ron Gallo's Foreground Music: An Existential Crisis Turned Fun"

The musically diverse singer and guitarist from Philadelphia, Ron Gallo officially declared that their sixth and self-produced LP Foreground music has the general characteristic of What would an existential crisis be like if it were fun?

Already advanced in the article, we will try to expand on what aspects this curious phrase of his that we have quoted in quotation marks could encompass, but before, we will clarify that the LP starts with three energetic lashes between punk, noise-pop and garage rock such as direct and primitive “Entitled man”, the protesting and adolescent titular song “Foreground music” and the rather Martian “At last I’m dancing”; perceiving punctual echoes of The Stooges, Devo, The White Stripes, The Ramones it is included Frank Zappafor example, during said first phase of the minutes.

Then the relatively gloomy “Vanity March” contains elements of post-punk and even, contradictorily, sprightly glam-pop as well; the latter in a style close to David Bowie from the early 70s. It continues, with a lazy and sorrowful rhythm, the magnificent “Yucca Valley Marshalls”; which looks like a cross between the pop of the Damon Albarn more relaxed and the John Lennon dreamlike of “Strawberry fields forever” (with The Beatlesin 1967) or “Number 9 dream” (solo, in 1974).

Immediately afterwards, distortion and surf chords coexist in the somewhat strange tune “San Benedetto” and the “spoken word” and folk are also juxtaposed in the correct “Can my flowers even grow here?”; resulting then “Life is a privilege?” just a fleeting interval, as if Ron Gallo It was a protester of repetitive messages through a second-hand megaphone or some radio with interference.

We also come across the tense calm and resigned tone, with hints of neo-psychedelia, of “Big truck energy” (one of the most prominent tunes on the LP) and as a distant cousin of the musical style of this previous one, is the most nervous “Anything but this”, seeming as if said song was extracted from the sound of Madchester or shoegaze, that is, from some British current of the late 80s.

Then, cut No. 11 sounds and this is the haunting and rueful ballad “I love someone buried deep inside you”, which brilliantly closes the CD officially. On the other hand, when the repertoire already seems to be silent, the extravagant and eclectic Ron Gallo resorts to that well-known experiment of the “hidden track” and uncredited (this last surprising maneuver was already used previously by legendary artists such as The Beatles, Blur, Guns & Roses, etc etc). So, effectively, a piece number 12 (without a title, naturally) sneaks in, which is nothing more than a “reprise” of tune number 10 itself “Anything but this”; play which, I emphasize, that can be auditioned in the Compact Dis format

In short, the restless performer from Pennsylvania does not remain clinging to a single style and somewhat empirically takes several musical directions with a simple background and an “indie” attitude; where, at the same time, the North American vocalist attacks and complains, through his forceful, acid and transparent lyrics, against controversial sociological situations, of today, that worry the same Ron Gallo. Is it therefore Foreground Music a general statement of finding himself in serious opposition to mundane modernity?

However, and deep down, the texts themselves and the sound of the LP arise both from the carefree partying and from the pleasure of the provocation that rock and roll supposes for Gallo, permanently and in any of the cases.

His phrase that we reproduced at the beginning is derived from all of this above.

The orange frame of the cover adds to his style of attracting attention, and it is that these same garish tones (as well as yellow) were used by the American in some of his other previous covers, that is, in his albums. Really nice guys (2018), Stardurst birthday party (2018) o Peacemeal (2021). This same citrus color could symbolize, perhaps, that there is still hope and fun left, in complete contrast to the daunting black and white frontal image in which a Ron Gallo with a sour facial expression and a relentless and intimidating bulldozer behind him.

Being impartial, it’s not that Foreground Music (means “Music from the foreground”) deserves to become an anthological and essential songbook in popular memory (and it is possible that the author himself does not intend it) but, over time, it turns out to be a better job than expected. what it looks like on first listen.