His Name is Luigi
Luigi Masi
I’ve been waiting two years to tell people about this guy, and, with this album finally released Stateside, I can now make my case. Luigi Masi is proof that if you have musical ability but only an average voice, the right producers and an aptitude for post-production vocal processing, you can still make an incredible album. Just like Ke$ha, but British and sober. In its original 2009 format, His Name Is Luigi was titled Save His Shoes and featured virtually the same track listing (re-ordered) but sans the first three new tracks and the remixes at the end. Luigi Masi represents the new brand of electro teen pop, a sound that embodies the youth zeitgeist of text messages and social media omni-exposure while still remaining true to the hallmarks of hanging out at the mall and high school dating. The single that originally led me to Luigi was “Strobelight,” a slick, swaggering dance track with metallic vocals as seductive as the lighting it describes and released with club mixes by Wideboys. The remainder of the album varies from synth ballads to funky electronics to grinding dance and reminds you what it feels like to be young enough to remain completely convinced that you know everything. Other standouts include “Pull the Trigger,” “Perfect Criminal,” and “Island.”
