Staff Reviews

Ola Podrida - Belly of the Lion

Review by Aaron Lavery

A composer of film scores by day, by night David Wingo is… well, an indie singer-songwriter, based in Austin, Texas. Not quite as »

User reviews

• 8/10 by lyle

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belly of the lion, is david wingo's much anticipated sophomore effort under the name ola podrida. chockfull of unsentimental love songs, the album pulses with the burgeoning sexuality borne of feral adolescent summers spent in the sprawling suburbs of the south. it's hard not to be wooed, as the songs gingerly lay to rest the calamities that inevitably befall an adventurous heart. the album sounds so organic and well-ballaced, it's hard to believe wingo wrote and recorded most of it alone in his apartment. rather than creating overwrought studio jams, wingo's years of recording soundtracks seem to have taught him how to use the perfect amount of restraint, while still delivering rich guitar textures that compliment his unforgettable vocal melodies and magnify the impact of his abstract narratives. if pink floyd had been influenced by bedhead and flying saucer attack, they might well have crafted gorgeous shimmering gems like "we all radiant" and "monday morning." as tracks like "donkey" swell, almost to the point of bursting, it's easy to be reminded of jeff mangum's heartbreaking croon. alternately, the gently driving rhythm and fragile vocals on "lakes of wine" project a hypnotizing mood that seems to summon the spirit of nick drake, while "roomful of sparrows" with its pastoral shoegaze rock feels like the best song kevin shields never wrote. ola podrida has played throughout the us, including shows with fleet foxes, explosions in the sky, she & him, beach house, and many more.
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