Cerrato
Me and you
Osito Records

Lead by singer (with a signature voice) Maria Cerrato and her brother Luis (who also sings, and plays the synthesizer - the others are: Stian Sander on guitar, Odd Erling Høgberg on drums, and Joakim Andersen on bass) Cerrato put out their first full album. Two and a half years ago their debut record, Ghost EP, was reviewed here at ours. And as the fall is here, dark and cold, Cerrato unveil their sounds of mystique and sorrow.

They call their music "grief-pop", ad that's a fitting tag. A deep, dark and gloomy melancholy sweeps and surrounds their soundscapes. Well, it's not fully gloomy all the time. There are some glimpses of light and some more 'uplifting', almost cheering, passages inbetween.

What stroke me at first was the sort of 'un-modern' sound they have, and I thought the music sounded a bit too depressing and anonynous. This 80s sound is veiling Cerrato, especially the synth, which I have some serious problems handlig (like our staff member reviewing their EP had). But after some spins it starts growing. Maria's deep and dramatic vibrato voice is something special as it spins round the core of the music, and the album holds a bunch of strong melodies (it's getting better as the record goes on I think). Such as the twin-vocaled "Don't hide your face", "King of the night", "Clumsy", "Never" (sung by Luis), and the 'old' favorite "Ghost".

If you're looking for a 'soundtrack' for the autumn Me and you could be a contender.

Copyright © 2003 Håvard Oppøyen