Although more usually found as one-half of Electric Drama, Hinkfuss is Francesco Di Marco’s solo musical vehicle. Considering the pandemic put a spanner in the creative works for a while, as it did most people; after several singles and an early EP, The Glasgow Effect, his long-awaited debut album, Follow Shadows, is now out.
With ten songs that ebb and flow between the borders of shimmering indie and more shoegaze-infused territories, Follow Shadows contains music made between pop and a hard place, and it is a masterful debut long-player. It evokes such bands as Ride or Slowdive, floating and alternative yet tethered enough to ping on the radars of more mainstream pop-pickers, too.
There are delicate pop understatements such as Behind and the hushed ambient drifts of Hide To Feel, and then at the other extreme, the propulsive groove of Just Hangin’ Out and the more robust sonics of Something to Forgive.
Shoegaze for the modern age? Absolutely. But it is more than that, too. Although Follow Shadows has one foot on the pedalboard of that realm, with the other it moves the sound on with pop influences, indie moves and more straightforward rock inclusions, too.
It’s a very smart thing to do and the result is a very cool album indeed.