Italians Do It Better – A Label Retrospective

I first heard music from the Italians Do It Better label in 2007 with the release of the Chromatics Night Drive album, Beatbox by Glass Candy, and the After Dark compilation that showcased the distinctive sound wrought by the man behind the curtain, Johnny Jewel. These releases came at a time when I felt musically homeless, my preferences stuck between electronic acts and bands that weren’t quite scratching my particular itch. This slowed down synth laden disco somehow felt ahead of its time, while also providing vivid flashbacks to my own adolescence.

In the decade or so that has slipped through my fingers since then, Jewel has refined this sound with projects by Desire, Farah, Mirage, and Vancouver’s own, In Mirrors. He has also contributed to a number of soundtracks, most notably as part of Twin Peaks: The Return, which I featured on my feature of music from the films of David Lynch.

This label retrospective combs through the Italians Do It Better catalog with the diligence of a unstable detective obsessing over the unsolved murder of his estranged ex-wife. Few labels are as apt to at once render such a variety of music with such a cohesive sound.

Track List

Glass Candy – Introduction

Chromatics – The Guest

Glass Candy – Miss Broadway

Farah – Law of Life

Desire – If I Can’t Hold You

Chromatics – In the City

Pink Gloves – Los Angeles

Twisted Wires – 0000

Glass Candy – I Always Say Yes (Drumm Edit)

Glass Candy – C High B

Mirage – Lady Operator

Invisible Conga People – Cable Dazed

In Mirrors – Take Your Movement Away

Glass Candy – Shell Game

Farah – Baby Girl

Nite Jewel – Had to Let Me Go

Chromatics – At Your Door (8 Track Version)

Heaven – It-s Not Enough

Tess Roby – Ballad 5

Symmetry – Streets of Fire

Glass Candy – The Message

In Mirrors – Human

Heaven – Truth or Dare

Mirage – Let’s Kiss

Interview – Glass Candy

Johnny Jewel – Slow Dreams

Chromatics – Blue Moon

Johnny Jewel feat Saoirse Ronan – Tell Me

Johnny Jewel – The Other Side of Midnight (Excerpt)

In Mirrors – Escape From Berlin

Symmetry – Bicycle

Johnny Jewel – Birds of Prey

Johnny Jewel – Windswept (Reprise)

Johnny Jewel – Endless

Johnny Jewel – Streetlights

Glass Candy – Interview