[engl] Thirteen perfectly balanced, keyboard saturated songs 7lutter like 7lags threaded on a string: a collection of 7leeting thoughts stirred by the winds of Eighties pop. Riffs soar, the drum machine gallops and vocals are as carefully blended as a mango smoothie on a white-sky day. Modal Melodies is the duo made up of Violetta Del Conte-Race (Primo! / The Glass Picture) & Jake Robertson (Alien Nosejob, etc.) The group stemmed from a loose chat at Geelong’s Jerkfest in early 2021, where they made plans to help each other complete some un7inished demos. After emailing ideas back and forth through lockdown, they were soon able to be in the same room together to structure their quickly blossoming songs. Vio added vocals from home and Jake mixed them into their sessions. Six to eight months after making their 7irst arrangements, Modal Melodies had matured into this debut record. There’s something about a duo - something intimate and serious: it requires full trust and an act of balance. These are people who have listened to so much music they know how to make tunes in a way that seems intuitive. Karen Marks, Saada Bonaire and Lena Platonos have been mentioned as influences, but it seems like the biggest inspiration to cite came from each other. There’s an untamed instinct for melody, and layers like clouds, slowly rolling in. Drenched with colours and understated tension in parts, coupled with reckless joy, this album speaks to this moment.