SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: RICHARD BARBIERI – HAUNTINGS

RICHARD BARBIERI
HAUNTINGS
KSCOPE

David Sylvian-led Japan became legends of ‘80s electronic music, and Sylvian himself had a renowned solo career with a series of more and more experimental releases. Yet quite a few fans of the genre sometimes need to be reminded that all other members of the band had a series of good to excellent releases with their solo, joint or collaborative/band efforts.

This is particularly true of Richard Barbieri, the man that many critics cite as the architect of the Japan’s synth programming, who has behind him not only a series of electro albums, but also became an integral part of prog rock favourites, Porcupine Tree.

Barbieri has been a bit quiet for the last five years (his previous effort was Under a Spell from 2021) but is now back with aptly titled Hauntings. As the title suggests, Barbieri is working in some darker overtones here, his synth programming imagination is not standing still, producing some intricate sounds that are delicately combined with acoustic instruments, giving Barbieri’s music here the exact touches it needs.

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