album: Panzarotti - Brian Mietz

words: Steven Spoerl

For years, Brian Mietz has been known for artwork but Panzarotti, the songwriter’s debut solo album, might issue a change. Routinely tapped for poster art by acts like Braid and Guided By Voices has given Mietz a unique opportunity to get familiarized with certain types of music. While that influence has been present on acts that Mietz has played in previously (The Not Fur Longs, Cabana Wear, It’s A King Thing), it congeals fully on Panzarotti, an extraordinary record that plays like Grandaddy filtered through LVL UP (and, occasionally, vice versa).

Brimming with a bright pop bent, Panzarotti isn’t quite as weightless as it may seem at first blush. “Glue”, for instance, is a deeply concerned look at a close friend’s slow spiral into a new lifestyle and the subsequent passing of a point of reconciliation. Affecting in its quiet despair and gentle pleas for a return to normalcy, “Glue” operates from a template that’s common to Panzarotti: urgent in presentation, thoughtful in construction, precise in execution. While Panzarotti’s arsenal of hooks bring to mind Mietz’s business associates in Guided By Voices, the voice that anchors those moments skews closer to Sparklehorse’s Mark Linkous; acutely aware of damage but also of the need to heal. Whether that healing comes in the form of reconnecting (“Glue”), realignment (“Hollyweed”), or surviving a litany of numbing everyday routines (“Kallie”). Still, despite a deceptively hyper-aware narrative bent that hinges on a keen eye for foundational cracking, Panzarotti remains remarkably fun.

Quietly released at the start of March on tape label Sludge People, Mietz’s 10 track, 22 minute opus is strong enough to warrant a significantly larger audience. Furthering the record’s powerpop credentials is the fact Panzarotti -- named after the calzone-esque dish Mietz consumed before seeing his first punk show -- was recorded and shaped under the guidance of The Figgs’ Pete Donnelly.  Short, rich, surprisingly considered, and undeniably mixtape-ready, Panzarotti easily ranks among the best offerings of 2020’s early stretch. Leave it on repeat.