Fabrizio Ferrara - Two Faced

Stream the Two Faced video here
Pre-order Fabrizio's album TMO here (out 3rd November 2014)

When you're about to release your debut album, you better be darned sure that the song which precedes it is a full on memorable doozy. Luckily ace Euro-pop star Fabrizio Ferrara has already gifted us with the scintillating A Pack of Wolves (with guest vocals from the mysterious yet always reliable superhero of pop, Zorro Blakk) - and now, with his feral side unleashed, he's about to usher us into his new album TMO with the pulsating groove he calls Two Faced. Easily the best pop song called Two Faced since Louise's Two Faced, it's no wonder that the addictive ditty is under consideration to represent Switzerland at the 2015 Eurovision song contest. And songwriters Charlie Mason & Thomas Lipp know a thing or two about penning a winning entry - they did bestow Rise Like A Phoenix on Conchita last year which of course propelled itself to certain victory. (And let's not forget pop whizz Daniel Volpe is also onboard for composition - I'm convinced he has some power that allows him to absorb all the beautiful melody within our world and extrapolate it into perfect pop songs). The song's pedigree is certainly honoured by Fabrizio who brings it to life with an energetic and engaging vocal performance that throbs and thrills alongside the vibrating bass and seductive rhythms. It all starts off with this innocent sounding whistle, perfectly placed to mask the complexity of the lyrical situation which follows. Jangling guitar effects give the song a vibrant edge whilst a disco infused backdrop places the narrative in a giddy swirling lightshow of conflicting emotions. Fabrizio sings of the different facets of personality that often rear themselves during the course of his relationship and how these often cause problems in being accepted; as he lists off the labels that get attached to differing behaviours a military style beat urges you into the explosive chorus (and remember those whistles back at the start? Already means you're familiar with and invested in this addictive refrain). This crescendo provides the listener with a euphoric rush as Fabrizio guides us ably around the winning melody - it really is a tremendous pop song all bundled up in a clever approach. What's even better is that there is a sweetness and a message at the heart of it - people aren't perfect and if there's a self recognition of this then surely you two crazy kids can work through anything; and that actually at times there's a yearning "please love me, warts and all" subtlety to the song that's quite, quite charming. All in all, it really is Very Good Indeed Pop - contemporary with classic elements, of the now yet with an enduring message. Plus totally worth saying again - that chorus kicks arse. A pleasing intro to what promises to be a wildly entertaining album.

Video Breakdown:

• A cute little dog is trotting around outside a nice looking house. If that were my dog, he'd be growling violently at the camera man while doing that cover-up-my-scent digging thing that dogs do (usually on someone's front lawn while they are looking through the kitchen window)
• Fabrizio is inside popping on his jacket (heating that place must cost a fortune). You know you are watching the right video because his name comes up on screen just like the good old days of television soap operas such as Dynasty and Dallas...
• Before we get into the nitty gritty of the video, can we just celebrate the fact that Fabrizio is wearing a bow tie?! I'm an absolute sucker for a dude in a bow tie and am already having inappropriate thoughts (that I shall put on hold until I'm done with this breakdown. Or ANALysis as I like to call it)...
• He has walked into what looks like the most boring dinner party ever - or every Sunday dinner at my house during my childhood. I'm assuming that is his family. The dowager mother, the rebel sister and the bratty younger sibling. It's actually frightfully bad manners to chew gum at the table (the Dowager Countess of Grantham from Downton Abbey would have a stroke) but I am impressed that the family use linen napkins. Very upper lower middle class :)
• Something under the table is making it bounce up and down. The family either has a poltergeist (stay away from the light Carol Anne!) or Fabrizio is VERY EXCITED INDEED to be releasing this song and video. As he should be :D
• Having dabbed away the remnants (guilty remnants? Hashtag The Leftovers) of his dinner WITH A LINEN NAPKIN (this bears repeating for people who use kitchen roll. Commoners!) Fabrizio is off and giving a little shimmy in the hallways of his suburban home. His sister is twirling away in her tartan school which just screams Blair Waldorf in Gossip Girl...
• In a twist worthy of Revenge (or at the very least Scandal), Bow Tied Up Fabrizio has entered the basement of some seemingly abandoned building where he comes face to face with - GASP! - himself :O With blue highlights and an American Football jumper on. Possibly some shoulder pads too because his frame is very Alexis Morrell Carrington Colby Dexter Rowan circa 1988...
• Sadly the two don't get into the best bitch smackdown since this (forward to 3m) (look how the fighting involves accessorising with feather boas) although Electro Punk Fabrizio seems to have engineered an underground rave that Bow Tied Up Fabrizio seems to having a jolly good time at.
• Even though it's completely different, I decree that Two Faced is the best dinner party video since this. HUZZAH!