bar italia stuns with moody and minimalistic performance at Songbyrd DC
By Olivia Mezzullo
bar italia, one of the most esoteric bands breaking out of the London indie scene, performed at Songbyrd Music House in Washington, D.C., last Friday. I first found out about bar italia last year when Lindsay Jordan of Snail Mail (who I actually saw at the show) posted one of their songs on her story. However, I didn’t truly appreciate their indie rock prowess until I listened to their debut album on Matador Records, Tracey Denim. I was instantly drawn to its clangy and experimental sound, as well as its ability to maintain a minimalistic feel and refrain from becoming overly chaotic.When I heard they were touring their second album released this year, The Twits, I knew I had to check it out.
The evening fit the vibe of the show perfectly — it was dark, rainy and foggy — which actually reminded me of the time I spent in London earlier this year. Unfortunately, due to the confusing and potentially inaccurate listing of the show start time on the Songbyrd website, my friend and I missed most of the first opener, a two-piece band called The Place.The part of the set we caught, though, very much fit bar italia’s vibe and I wish I could’ve caught more of it.
The next two openers were incredibly captivating and I will definitely be checking them out at some point soon. The first was Great Area, a London-based project, but there isn’t much information about them online. They had more of an electro-pop feel, and their performance consisted of them singing over a track with psychedelic visuals projected behind them. I actually caught a few members of bar italia in the audience watching both Great Area’s and the subsequent opener’s set; it was super cool seeing that kind of support between artists. The last opener was definitely my favorite, a solo jazz guitar act named Walsh Kunkel. During his very atmospheric and technically impressive selection of songs, I noticed he projected videos of around Baltimore, which is where I’m from. It’s always super inspiring to see someone successfully making art in spaces you’ve grown up in. Each of the openers set the tone so effectively for different aspects of the main act’s sound, and I commend whoever booked this show.
After some anticipation, it was time for bar italia to take the stage. I hadn’t seen any videos or records of them performing live before coming to this show, so I was surprised to see that all three main band members — Jezmi Tarik Fehmi, Nina Cristante and Sam Fenton — were contributing vocally. Before seeing them live, I wasn’t able to distinguish the two male vocalists from each other, but all three of the band members have a very unique and distinct vocal style that was amplified in a live setting. I definitely enjoyed the vocals better live than recorded. I can’t quite tell if this is due to an improvement in the band, or if their style is just more effective live.
After the first few songs, the lead singer pulled out a tambourine that she continued to hold onto and play throughout the rest of the show, which was very reminiscent of Hope Sandoval of Mazzy Star’s use of the tambourine in conversation with her own voice. Bar italia’s use of the tambourine is much more upbeat and energetic though. It was subtle, but many of the songs they played would not have been complete without it. For example, their song “twist” off their new album has a very subdued opening verse where Cristante’s voice and the tambourine are the main focus. I don’t particularly love this song, but I enjoyed it a lot live. It felt more complete to me the way they decided to play it.
In general, I found myself enjoying their live songs more than the recorded versions. There is more of a fullness to the live versions, which I don’t think is objectively better, but I preferred it. The ambiance of both the venue and lighting also contributed to this. Songbyrd was such an ideal intimate setting for this show, and the lighting went from a sepia-like tone, to dramatic overhead lighting over the band, to all red lighting in a way that felt very avant-garde and matched the vibe of the music.
The band itself was very skilled at their instruments, the sounds all melted together in such a beautiful way. At times everything seemed to drown each other out, but it resulted in such an effective indie-sleazy sound. Other times, the band performed songs with such a busy-ness, resulting in a cluttered-like sound - which may sound unappealing, but it was mind-blowing. Towards the end of the set, they played one of my favorite songs by them: “Nurse!” I already loved the song, but the listening experience was really transformative for me at that moment. The back-and-forth between two of the main vocalists between the verse and the chorus, the clangy yet melodic guitars, as well as the jazzy drumbeat made it such a perfect track to experience live.
I would highly recommend checking out bar italia, and be sure to catch one of their next shows when they return to the area. Having only been around since 2020, they have quickly established such a unique sound and presence that is not one to be missed. Trust me, you will want to experience it before they make it big, and I’m sure they will.