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Jenny Sorrenti & Tullio Angelini — Néos Saint Just
(MoreMusic Momus 013, 2024, CD)

by Peter Thelen, Published 2025-02-25

Néos Saint Just Cover art

Saint Just was the band led by Jenny Sorrenti, sister of Italian singer and composer Alan Sorrenti; Saint Just on their first two records Saint Just (1973) and La Casa del Lago (1974) was something of a progressive folk-rock unit, with Jenny handling lead vocals, accompanied by four additional musicians handling acoustic guitar, twelve-string, electric guitar, bass, keyboards, autoharp, drums, and more. Following those initial two albums, she went solo, releasing albums in 1976 and 1980 with a more popular feel, featuring a number of top shelf musicians, then in the 80s and 90s began composing music for theatre, soundtracks, medieval music, and more. From 2000 to 2010 three more solo albums were released, then finally in 2011 came a new album by ‘Saint Just Again’ titled Prog Explosion, a very limited-run LP with no musician credits. And that was all that was heard from her until late 2024 when the self-titled album by Néos Saint Just appeared, harkening back to a trippy avant-folk style once again, featuring Jenny on vocals, piano, and keyboards and Tullio Angelini on loops and electronics, who together composed most of the album’s tracks (plus a couple more with Alessandro Pizzin). Other musicians include Alieno de Bootes (keys), Roberto Scarpa (piano), Kenny Wollesen (drums, electronics), Robin Rimbaud (electronics), Clive Bell (khene), and Sylvia Hallett (violin). The seven tracks are intensely beautiful, with Jenny’s multi-layered breathy vocals assuming a very avant-garde styling right out front, often with vocal processing, with all of the varied instruments and electronics right behind her, but only as much as needed. The opening cut, “Pneumatos,” sets the stage with many layers of voice for well over a minute before any other instruments join in, assuming a powerful dreamy tone for the remainder of its six minute run. “In the Presence of the Entity” features a keyboard-heavy opening where interesting percussives and bells abound, the plaintive vocal delivery seemingly filled with sorrow and melancholy. With “Hidden Things” we again return to the deeply layered vocals, almost haunting. Most of the lyrics throughout are in English, and one may hear some similarities with Donella del Monaco and Opus Avantra, but Néos Saint Just is far more expressive and dreamy, hopefully this project continues well into the future.

Filed under: New releases, 2024 releases

Related artist(s): Saint Just / Jenny Sorrenti, Alessandro Pizzin (Alieno de Bootes)

More info
http://neossaintjust.bandcamp.com/album/n-os-saint-just

 

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