I'm trying to learn Italian, and by learning I don't mean being able to reasonably listen to the news and order food from the odd word and vague gestures. I mean actually trying, even though most of what I've actually paid attention to so far is probably only any good as a pick-up line (like "Qual è il suo numero di telefono?"). At any rate, one of the things I have decided to do was find good music to listen to in Italian, in addition to Disney songs and a punk band I found online when I was like 15.

So I decided to start looking around, mostly for things that fit what I've been craving lately - Tilly and the Wall, Coeur de Pirate, and so on (don't judge me). It's a bit hard to find if your Google-Fu sucks, but I still managed to find a few good bands after only a few hours on last.fm. Here are some I have enjoyed so far (both in Italian and not, because I stopped caring after a while):


01. L'orso - They're adorable. They have the lo-fi sound and adorably melodic guitar you'd expect from twee. Their style reminds me a little of a grittier Neutral Milk Hotel. One of them seems to have an epic headful of curls, which is obviously a bonus, and their EP is available for free on bandcamp. Their songs remind me a little of walking in the Botanical Gardens in the Autumn and feeling my hands freezing in the fog while staring at the leaves; it's simple and sad and bittersweet.

02. Chewingum - I think they have the most complex sound out of the bands I've seen in my epic quest, it's also very dream-like and childish. It's like, if CocoRosie didn't suck and sung in Italian. In fact sometimes they remind me a little of Princeton. They have some songs up for download on bandcamp and last.fm.

03. Tiger Tiger! - They don't sing in Italian, but they are Italian so I guess they count. The lead singer has an adorable voice (and I mean it, it's like the Coeur de Pirate girl's but sweeter), which kind of reminds me of the reason why my future imaginary girlfriend is an Italian girl who wears lovely dresses and has huge eyes and curls. /TMI At any rate, I really like what I've heard by Tiger Tiger! so far. Unfortunately I can't figure out much, though I found their MySpace and a link to buy their album (I'm not sure how, though). Their label seems to have other interesting bands, but I have yet to check them out. You can hear more on last.fm.


04. Young Wrists. They sing in English as far as I can tell, and their music is a noisy twee reminiscent of Belle & Sebastian. They have a bandcamp as well. I think that sometimes they're a bit unoriginal, but I really haven't heard enough and they're kind of good so far.


05. Nome. To be honest I've only listened to the song sample on their last.fm, and that's not even enough to give an opinion, but I'm intrigued.

05. Grimoon. They're a French-Italian band, and they mostly sing in French. They dress up as pirates according to their last.fm, and they remind me of what the world would be like if the Dreadnoughts were asked to star in a Tim Burton film, in a different universe where Tim Burton is actually European. They're not all that much my cup of tea, but anyone who isn't tired of the accordion flood in indie music should give them a listen - even if you are, they're still ok.