Andrea Pizzo And The Purple Mice – “Bombshell” / “The Ballad Of Alan Mathison”

Music Reviews
Jer@SBS
October 9, 2023
0

Andrea Pizzo And The Purple Mice – “Bombshell” / “The Ballad Of Alan Mathison” – Singles Review

For real Andrea…what’s got you shoutin’ up a storm my friend? I promise we can hear you.

So…look…in the past reviews I’ve written on Andrea Pizzo And The Purple Mice, I’ve already made it crystal clear that this is one of the most niche projects out there in any corner of the music scene today – and you betcha, I stand by that. When you have a personality as large as Andrea has, it’s guaranteed to be a polarizing aspect and challenging element for the masses to take in…and when you listen to the dude light up the microphone like it owes him rent money as “Bombshell” begins, you’ll know what I mean. There’s nothing typical about the way he sings or the way he sounds…and ultimately, that’s as much of an asset & an advantage as it is a potential obstacle in between the music and the average everyday listener. Andrea knows this I’m sure…I don’t think it’s something you couldn’t be aware of.

What I like about the way he does what he does, is that he doesn’t shy away from how different he is – in fact, you can tell from the extreme confidence you hear in “Bombshell” that he leans right into it. While I’d never be the guy to tell ya that Andrea Pizzo And The Purple Mice is gonna be for everyone, I do think there’s definitely a place for bands that are this noticeably different than the rest of what’s out there. As for “Bombshell” itself…I’m a little undecided. I can appreciate the uniqueness of it, I can appreciate the songwriting, and I can appreciate the music too…but if I’m being as honest with Andrea as I always have been, his vocals are coming out a little more on the abrasive side in this song than perhaps would be ideal. With a tone of his own so immensely unique to this band and this band alone, trust me my friend, you don’t need to shout at us so loud, we’ll hear you no matter what the mix is like, I assure you. So my true advice here, would be to bring the vocals down…not just a bit, but a lot – we’re always going to hear Andrea, so the only risk to doing that is actually a benefit – it’d make the music surrounding him even bigger. He’s just gotta be mindful of how quickly his vocals can go from being loud to straight-up overwhelming. Thematically, I can get behind it…”Bombshell” is built on all the shiny beautiful things in our world…the models, the actors, the stunning folks we see in life that we can’t take our eyes off of. As far as I’ve read, it’s actually a song that is dedicated to Hedy Lamarr (inventor/actress) from the 40s/50s. I dig the songwriting…”Bombshell” is undeniably & proudly flamboyant in its expressive design, but the main hooks are memorable for sure. Smartly laid out with the backing vocals echoing the title when it’s sung, “Bombshell” is a focused tune when it comes to the subject it’s taking on. I’d like the music to be a bit more accessible than it is personally…it’s so much further in the distance in comparison to how close up the vocals are…and ultimately I think that ends up giving “Bombshell” a much more challenging mix than perhaps it should have. If we’re talking about music as art however, I don’t think you can take too many points away. If we’re talking about what makes sound stand out, there are elements in the melody of this song that translate beyond mere volume…as in, there’s a song here for sure, it’s just harder to access than most tunes you come across. This has kind of always been a main staple of Andrea Pizzo’s sound, style, and vibe though…so if you’ve previously enjoyed what he and his Purple Mice have created, I can’t see you not enjoying a track like “Bombshell” just as much overall.

To be completely fair to Andrea Pizzo And The Purple Mice, you can see the impact having the support of an entertaining video can create. Whether you click on the AI generated visuals that accompany “Bombshell” or “The Ballad Of Alan Mathison,” you’ll find in each instance, videos that have already amassed an impressive amount of clicks & views, and have reached numbers that far surpass anything I’ve personally ever done. So rock on Andrea Pizzo And The Purple Mice! You don’t need my advice, guidance, or a thumbs-up from me on anything that’s already garnering such notable results – the people have spoken, they’ve rendered their verdict – they’re tuning in to see & hear what this band is up to, and that’s always better than anything I could personally ever say…at least in my opinion! It’s definitely cool stuff to watch though – I’m not an AI hater. I’d never think to use it for anything I’d write, but for videos, heck ya, so far I really like what I’ve seen. From videos like “Sniper” by Convey, to these two new ones from Andrea Pizzo And The Purple Mice, and just about every one of’em I’ve seen between, these AI generated visuals have genuine artistic merit. We’ll all be victims of dating ourselves years down the line in retrospect as we realize how into this whole thing we got at the same time, but that’s kind of what life is like…how we make our art, and the tools we choose to make it with, are all a valid part of the way human history is documented. Anyhow. I’m probably a bit more partial to “The Ballad Of Alan Mathison” overall on a personal level, but I’d acknowledge the hooks you’ll find within “Bombshell” are probably more memorable and/or universal. “The Ballad Of Alan Mathison” is a much more meta spin – especially when you consider the video that comes along with it. If you’re unfamiliar with the name Alan Mathison, let me fill you in by providing a bit more context to it – you probably know him as Alan Mathison Turing. His contributions to society are countless, and he’s often referred to as “the father of theoretical computer science,” which would essentially imply that he laid a lot of the groundwork that would have been necessary to get to the point where we’re at now, at the dawn of AI.

Like an Oppenheimer of sorts, Turing’s bomb simply took longer to go off…in fact, we’re still waiting. The best poisons work very slowly though…they take over a whole system before that system even realizes what’s happening, which is arguably what is happening with the AI revolution right at this very moment. We might have already missed our opportunity to thwart its perils, and AI might already be eating us from within…time will tell. Alan’s ideas were generally good. They could have been used for a number of incredible things, and in many instances, history shows us that they have. We’re at the point now where we’ve reached a turning point though…and those same things that were once great have now been used by the hands of those in charge in the name of commerce at the sacrifice of humanity – and clearly, that spells trouble for our collective future to come. Some of this is addressed within “The Ballad Of Alan Mathison” – it’s a thought-provoking tune, with the experience made all the sweeter by the fact that the video uses AI generated visuals. If only Turing could have seen how far things would go – would he have still provided the means for us to get where we are now? Impossible to say I suppose. He might have given us the tools for our own demise…a process that we could already be in the midst of – time will tell. In any event, he’s also given Andrea Pizzo And The Purple Mice the inspiration to create a piece of art that considers this, which is why I’m siding with “The Ballad Of Alan Mathison” as the more consequential of the two singles I’ve got here from the band this time around. The band has also really leveled-up in the way they play this song…it’s quite Progressive when it comes right down to it, with an extraordinary rhythm section leading the way, but other elements like the guitar and keys making their mark in “The Ballad Of Alan Mathison” as well. As for Andrea’s vocals…he’s always going to be an acquired taste for the people out there I’m sure…but like I’ve been saying all along, I’m sure he knows that. Art is always up for debate, and the best stuff is always polarizing, interpretive, and moving to us on several levels…ultimately, that’s the kind of music that Andrea Pizzo And The Purple Mice create.