Having musically come of age in Boston in the mid-90s I received many mixed musical messages. There was grunge everywhere thanks to Seattle, and I was into some of what that influence was transformed into in Boston (6L6, OTIS, SCISSORFIGHT maybe but not really). As I’ve spewed about before there was the ripe UK82 meets Oi meets HC scene (SHOWCASE SHOWDOWN, FAT DAY, THE TROUBLE, PINKERTON THUGS, AUGUST SPIES, TOXIC NARCOTIC ETC.) that left a huge mark on me. Rivers Cuomo was living here and buddying around with the SHODS so that gave life to local pop for me (not to mention PAPAS FRITAS!). Beyond those there were myriad other Boston grown musical influences stirring up my imagination, but perhaps none more so than a band I saw many times: COMBUSTIBLE EDISON. This band was the undisputed kings and queen of the then fairly booming “Lounge Revival”: a loose celebration of exotica, Italian film soundtrack music, French porn film music, and “space age pop” such as the orchestral pieces by the wonderful Juan García Esquivel. COMBUSTIBLE EDISON was even on SUB POP! And then that all went away, the world of psychedelic orchestral instrumentals disappeared (at least from where I was looking). But here in Boston, some almost two decades later, I’ve been turned on anew. It is not the first place of origin you’d jump to consider music as I’ve described emanating forth from, but TREDICI BACCI, the Boston group playing this music, is playing music composed completely by GUERILLA TOSS member Simon Hanes. To say that this music comes from the complete opposite end of the spectrum from GUERILLA TOSS is an understatement. TREDICI BACCI is a 14 piece ensemble that breaks out the strings, and finds themselves in the midst of forlorn trumpet solos and sprightly harpsichord driven, non-lexical vocable laden numbers depending upon which of the six tracks from their brand new THE THIRTEEN KISSES EP you choose. This record takes you right back to a cocktail drinking, technicolor world that may be best left dead, but I’ll take the music. If you are of the correct temperament there’s a lot for you to enjoy amidst the harpsichord, and sax, the violins, and the flute and the violoncello. “Carina Botto” will fill your head with a dusty Italian landscape where the cowboys ride off into the sunset bellowing, “arrivederci!” I’m thinking that’s my favorite track here. Awesome to see young musicians, and so many of them, going off the musical grid. Give this a listen.