“Vampyr”, “The Tenant” and now “Whistle and I'm like to you”: the story of the Death and Vanilla is once again linked to the world of images and in particular to a 1968 TV film by Jonathan Miller, where protagonist is a professor who finds a whistle whose sound evokes spirits, a Goth-Folk story filmed with an elegant black and white.
Recorded live at the Hypnos theater in Malmö, the soundtrack remains faithful to the evanescent and imaginative mixture of electronics, psych-folk, hauntology And Dream-Pop previously dispensed by the group, the prevalent feeling is that of a more balanced and mature narrative structure, and perhaps more relevant to the film (the hopes of being able to see it are still small).
The velvety beat Rhythmic of “Has It Been Good here?”, The disturbing sequence of crystalline sounds of “Spooky Breakfast” and the dark dance of keyboards and synths of “Walk on the beach” are perfectly perfect that could work in any Goth-horror-noir cinema context.
Too bad that in the whole “Whistle and I'm like to you” it is less incisive than the past tests, and while appreciating the constant emotional tension that also animates the final part of the album (the excellent “Nightmares” and the evocative “The Apparition”), the feeling remains that the failure to use the images makes a little difficult to appreciate it in full.
While not adding anything to what has already been expressed by Death and Vanilla in their incursions in the world ofhauntology And of the soundtracks, “Whistle and I'm like to you” is the classic record that will not impress your turntable, but every time you happen to listen to it you will discover new interesting details and shades that will conquer you.
07/06/2025
Antonio Santini for SANREMO.FM
