Italian singer-songwriter Federica Lenore Catalano writes music that simply transcends genres. Her 2014 debut “Inner Tales” was a record we slept on and it used gothic rock as a basis for what actually was a diary-like confessional of a record of then 15-year old Catalano. “All Things Lost On Earth” no longer concerns itself with genre classifications and conventions. It keeps the same basis of gothic elements and the occasional venture into slightly more metallic territory but everything always comes back to Federica, her guitar playing and her innocent, inviting vocals. “All Things Lost On Earth” is everything that “Inner Tales” was but the interim in between has vastly enriched Catalano’s songwriting. “All Things Lost On Earth” never professes to be a metal album and most of the time it barely qualifies as one, full stop. Federica is a singer-songwriter in full bloom. As any of her colleagues her music doesn’t concern itself with classifications and genre boxes.
Seldom has there been such a gifted songwriter as such tender age. The majority of her debut was written when Federica was but a teen scribbling notes in her room. Not since Lene Marlin’s “Playing My Game” debut all the way back in 1999 has such a young girl displayed such tremendous songwriting talent and artistic potential. Marlin and Catalano hail from different parts of Europe (Norway and Italy, respectively) and both base most of their songs around the acoustic guitar and minimal percussion – yet both couldn’t be more different while sharing the same common ground in songwriting. Catalano came from the gothic and symfo metal scenes, a background she has since left behind, yet at heart she’s a composer and singer of gentle, sweet little musings on love, life, romance, sadness and heartbreak. What also helps tremendously is the warm, loving timbre of Federica's voice and that Marlin hasn’t released new music in what seems like ages. For all intents and purposes, Federica and Lenore S. Fingers are heir to whatever throne Marlin relinquished when she released her most recent album about a decade ago.
What does remain a constant in Lenore’s music is that she always uses rock and gothic elements as a starting point for her songs but the focus squarely lies on, as it should be, Catalano’s emotive vocals. The prerequisite heavier sections are present and accounted for but they never take precedence over Federica’s acoustic guitar and vocals. As it happens most of these heavier sections are incidental and circumstantial as what truly draws the listener in is Federica’s intimate and personal songcraft. While Lenore S. Fingers presents itself as a unit, it is Federica who is the key member, with Lenore S. Fingers functioning as her backing musicians. Balladry is the bread-and-butter of Lenore S. Fingers’ repertoire and “All Things Lost On Earth” is in no hurry to introduce any significant changes to that established formula. For the better too, cos most of the more metallic aspects in the band’s music come across as an contractual obligation and not only feel completely out of place with the surrounding gentle music, but are unnecessary to begin with. In fact, we’d love Lenore S. Fingers even more if they completely abandoned what little metallic aspects they still have. The rock aspect of “All Things Lost On Earth” and its predecessor is not what sells Lenore S. Fingers. Not in the slightest. Federica does.
It remains a mystery why Federica isn’t more famous and revered than she currently is. Perhaps it's the gothic and symfo metal classification that works to her disadvantage, perhaps it’s the limited audience she's able to reach as a singer-songwriter on a smaller metal label. The reasons are probably many but none should restrict a gifted young songwriter like herself from reaching her full potential and the widest audience possible. Imagine what this young woman could write when given the proper resources and backing. It boggles the mind that Catalano is still with her current label when she displays more talent in her songs than certain bands do in their entire repertoire. It’s nothing short of insanity that Lenore S. Fingers is still considered just gothic by many when the influences of Catalano’s songwriting clearly run so much more deeper and wider than just those two genres. Federica combines the innocence of early Jewel with the songwriting of Lene Marlin around “Playing My Game”, the indie/alternative mentality of Michelle Branch and the gothic aspects from anything to Evanescence, Florence + the Machine and Kerli.
It stands to reason that “All Things Lost On Earth” sometimes imposes restrictions on itself by virtue of being a proxy metal album released on a specialist metal label aimed at said demographic. Below that surface lies something far more rewarding and interesting. The second Lenore S. Fingers album is not only a refinement of what "Inner Tales" presented a few years earlier, but a maturation from the songwriting of its most identifiable member. It’s inevitable that at some point in the future Federica will feel restricted by the limitations of the genre from whence she came. “All Things Lost On Earth” already points in that direction and when she eventually frees herself from those restrictive shackles, she’ll truly be able to showcase her songcraft and then we’ll truly see what she’s only alluding to here. Her ‘Ascension’ (which makes us wonder whether she heard any modern Vanessa Carlton records) is much anticipated and hopefully we’ll see that happening sooner rather than later. “All Things Lost On Earth” is a crowning achievement in Catalano’s nascent career – and a definite promise of much, much greater things to come.
