Pezzettino - Venus
PEZZETTINO RELEASES ‘VENUS’ EP
Just today, Margaret Stutt, aka Pezzettino, releases a new EP, entitled Venus.
Pezzettino | Photo: Lois Bielefeld
Based in Oakland, California, by way of Wisconsin and then Brooklyn, Stutt borrowed the name Pezzettino (Italian for “piece”) from Leo Lionni’s children’s book, in which the protagonist finds himself residing in a realm similar to that of Part I of Gulliver’s Travels or Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World, only the opposite: Pezzettino is little and everyone else is huge.
A talented multi-instrumentalist and songwriter, Stutt studied classical piano at a convent and taught herself to play her father’s accordion. Later, while living in Milwaukee, she began her solo career and, almost overnight, amassed vast attention. Finding the fame overwhelming, she suffered a psychotic disruption in 2012. Stutt recovered and now lives in Oakland, where she works in anonymity, recording and releasing her music.
Stutt says, “I used to think success meant going all out, getting signed to some label, releasing big-budget music videos and being in all the magazines. But it turns out I make better work when I take the pressure completely off and am a small fry. Success to me means that I’m well-rested, fed, healthy, that I care for and am cared for by others. Success to me means having the opportunity each day to witness beauty in life, big or small. I just so happen to write music along the way to help me through.”
Highlights on the EP include “Walking Home,” traveling on a low-slung glistening melody blending art-pop and classical harmonics.
Encompassing five-tracks, Venus begins with “Ring For Sappho,” opening on stuttering guitar tones riding a measured rhythm, as Pezzettino’s deliciously inflected voice imbues the lyrics with tantalizing timbres. As the melody takes on resonance and color, the music expands to alt-rock/alt-pop aromas mixed with beguiling art-pop tints.
Highlights on the EP include “Walking Home,” traveling on a low-slung glistening melody blending art-pop and classical harmonics. There’s Leonard Cohen-like avant-garde quality to this song, making it both charming and alluring.
The final track, “Somewhere North of Pescadero,” features a soft, elegant piano, followed by Pezzettino’s gentle, gossamer tones, hushed yet gorgeously evocative, chock-full of wistful hues and moody reflections.
Venus is wonderfully wrought and inimitable in its devout emotional commitment, made all the more satisfying by the expressive voice of Pezzettino.
