Georgio “The Dove” Valentino
You Brought a Knife to a Gunfight
Tom Perkins Entertainment
Crooner music isn’t exactly what comes to mind when one thinks of Detroit, but Georgio “The Dove” Valentino makes a convincing case for its inclusion. In a strong, lonesome voice similar to Morrissey or Nick Cave, Valentino sends out lovelorn, underdog missives. Largely the instrumentation backing him up is a sinewy, minimalist noir; his guitars and keys are drenched in a blackened pool of reverb. Perhaps the best track following this template is “Here I Come (And There You Go)” a dark-as-midnight disco track with staccato-plucked strings in the verses and a shimmering chorus of release.
Glimpses of Motown’s garage rock roots peek out on “She’s Got Eyes in All the Right Places” and the close of the opener “It’s Only Pride (But It’s Mine).” The rawk aspects of these two tracks mix well with their stronger pop and jazzy overtones.
The title track’s fairly straightforward stab at piano-driven stripper/burlesque rock is the disc’s only hiccup. It’s a decent enough treatment, but at this point there’s little left of the genre aside from kitsch value.
Overall, this EP lends the Detroit music scene a much needed dose of class and maturity. It will be interesting to hear in what direction Valentino takes his sound next. One can only hope he keeps it a black-tie affair.
Georgio “The Dove” Valentino: http://www.georgiothedovevalentino.com
