This summer, Federica Garenna and Frank Marrelli took a step away from the Darkwave vibe of their band Les Longs Adieux to rock harder with the Anna Never project. Their energies renewed by the collaboration, they have returned to the core duo of Les Longs Adieux and have recorded a new single, “Valover.” According to the band’s notes on its Bandcamp page, the song was based on a Mid-90s Italian miniseries, “Voci Notturne,” [“Night Voices”] that had attained cult status in the intervening years.

Les Longs Adieux: Valover – IT – DL [2025]

1. Valover 5:06

The song kicks right off with a drum machine fill as Federica’s synths play a minor key riff over the urgent, motorik rhythm bed. Frank Marrelli’s tremolo guitar is adding watery depth to the sound and the pulse-beat and mystery of it had the feel of an Ultravox song from 1983. The syndrum hits kicked in as Federica began singing and we were swept away by the dark rush of it.

The cryptic lyrics, no doubt referring to the series that had inspired it, were sung in English this outing. The drop in the middle eight let Federica take a solo as Marrelli’s powerful guitar served as a bold counterpoint to the minor key synth melodies. Then Federica came tearing back into the song to bite deeply into the song’s climax. Finally easing off as the song’s coda suddenly pulled back to leave us hanging.

This was a tight single, just meant for the dance floor, and hearing it makes me sad I’ll never get to dance to this in a club. But if you are able to frequent clubs with a Goth bent, you might be luckier than I am. It remains to be seen whether this is a stand-alone single or a taster for the next Les Longs Adieux album. Their last one [“Vertigo“] was a compelling introduction to me of the music of Les Longs Adieux, and their continued flow of new work following that has made me a very happy listener. Ready to ride their bus anywhere. The DL of this song will set you back a thin Euro so don’t forget to top up your purchase on Bandcamp since it’s worth more than that scant amount. DJ hit that button!

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