SPILL FEATURE: THE TRUTH IN A DARK AGE – A CONVERSATION WITH LUCA MALATESTA OF THE DOORMEN

THE TRUTH IN A DARK AGE

A CONVERSATION WITH LUCA MALATESTA OF THE DOORMEN

The Doormen formed in 2009 in Ravenna, Italy. Vincenzo Baruzzi (vocals, guitar, drums) and Luca Malatesta (guitar) released an EP in that year, and two years later their debut self-titled full-length album. They instantly won over fans and developed a large local following, which led to them touring with The Charlatans, Paul Weller, and The Chameleons. Their music is a wide range of new wave, folk, rock and whatever else fits.

With their latest release, The Truth In A Dark Age, they are breaking new ground by writing a concept album. According to Malatesta, “the songs revolve around the character “The Freak”, presented in the first track “Night Shift” as a “superhero” who, once stripped of his everyday clothes, dedicates himself to hunting for more prey possible, in order to imprison them and deprive them of their love. In the song “A Freak”, after being trapped in his apartment and unable to hunt anymore, he completely loses his mind and finds himself fighting against the loneliness of isolation.”

“Night Shift” describes their fictional character “The Freak”, whose freedom allowed him to transform himself into a superhero who was able to capture his prey and “deprive them of true feeling, duping them with his ability”.

According to Malatesta, The songs of The Truth in a Dark Age were born in a very particular period. We had just finished the tour of the previous album, Plastic Breakfast, and after being around so much to present it in Italy and France none of us would have ever imagined that from there and in a short time the whole world would change.

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The album ends with the very dramatic “Your Shape Pillow”. “It is the perfect conclusion because finally our protagonist finds himself coming to terms with himself, closed in the four walls of his home.  “It is clear that we live in a dark age, given everything that is happening and has happened in recent years, so looking for a truth is increasingly difficult. We find that often a silence is much more effective than a flurry of words on the wind, such as those used by the brave on computer keyboards.”

The duo was influenced by a handful of albums here. “The records that have definitely influenced us are in the creation of this record are Love and Other Demons by Strangelove, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness by The Smashing Pumpkins, The Queen is Dead by The Smiths, Automatic by The Jesus & Mary Chain, and Slowdive’s Souvlaki.” 

The Doormen have developed their own style and sound and continue to grow and create. “Over the years we have always worked hard, and disc after disc, we have always managed to get something more both in terms of sound and writing and above all we have gained awareness of our work. We have always set ourselves goals that for better or for worse we have always achieved, and this has done nothing but stimulate us more and more. We never gave up and this record is proof of that.”

Malatesta has simple and honest hopes for his listeners. “We always hope that people recognize themselves in our songs, for their backgrounds and experiences and that they are also able to perceive the work and study of sound that we have done without necessarily being channeled into a genre. We live for music and its fascination, and we hope that those who listen will find the same fascination.”

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