Album Review: Bar Italia

The band Bar Italia, from left to right, Sam Fenton, Nina Cristante and Jezmi Tarik Fehmi. (Credit: Pinterest)

Bar Italia is my newest obsession. All three members of the band sing, but not in an acapella sort of way. Instead, they combine their sections of vocals to make something hypnotic.  

The trio is from London, England and it is evident in their music. This band sounds like The Cure if they were born 40 years later and had two more elite singers.  

The three vocalists give all their songs such a unique contrast and I adore it. The three songs I want to talk about are “Clark,” “Missus Morality” and “Polly Armour.” These songs all sound totally different, but they all have a tonality that unifies them. 

“Clark” is everything I love about this band. It begins with a crisp drum groove that drives the song forward before singer Sam Frenton comes in with his beautifully shaky vocals.  

The song is then swung over to Nina Cristante, who sings, “If I told you I really care, I would be lying. All I want is for you to let it go.” 

This song feels like a conversation between the two, almost as if you were a kid hiding in a closet listening to your parents talk. You don’t really know for sure what’s going on, but you can make an educated guess. 

Jezmi Tarik is the third member of the band and while he doesn’t come to the forefront in this song, he makes the chorus soar with him and Cristante combining their vocals to make something special. 

“Missus Morality” is such an elegant song. This track solely features Cristante on vocals and she handles it flawlessly. The chorus in this song is something otherworldly as she belts, “So give up your dreams and come this way.”  

Following the chorus, she starts talking her verses instead of singing them, something she also nails. This whole song sounds like a Disney fairytale gone wrong and I love every second of it. 

“Polly Armour” is my favourite song by the band. It has a peppy sixteenth note groove and it starts off with Frenton singing slightly off key. Somehow, it isn’t unpleasant but rather adds a texture to the song that I have never heard before.  

After this, Cristante comes in with her soothing and gentle vocals. Every member in this band acts like a point guard dishing out dime after dime to each other to get us from verse to chorus. This song is melancholic but in a way that is impossible to pinpoint. Heavenly and somber. 

Bar Italia is a great example of what makes the progression of music amazing. They have such vast influence and they make something totally new.