Vanna Pacella is 19, based on Cape Cod, and has already written, produced, recorded, and mixed her own debut album and a string of singles entirely independently. “Plead” came out in April and is the latest entry in a catalog that has been building steadily since “Wolf”, “Periphery”, and “The Dark Side of the Light” earned her recognition across New England. She describes her sound as ethereal rock – distorted guitars and grand pianos sharing the same space, emotion as the primary structural element. The lyrical territory here is identity and authenticity under pressure, framed by lyrics like “Glamorized glum machine / Made with love factories” – language that’s pointed enough to cut through the atmospheric production rather than get swallowed by it.
I can’t help but draw comparisons to soft grunge music of the 90s à la Alice in Chains. Here, it just has that same quality of shimmering acoustic layers with haunting melodies and electric guitar melodic intermissions that serve as the response in the call and response of the story. Don’t get me wrong, though, this song absolutely has its own unique qualities, and the creative choices like the addition of the Rhodes and the way it’s mixed set it apart. What makes it similar is more of the spirit and the melancholic intention behind the execution of every note and snare hit.
Pacella is currently 18 stops into the Glum Machine Tour – a name that now makes complete sense given those lyrics – crossing 11 states. For someone this early in their career, the level of creative control she exercises is unusual and clearly intentional. The production on “Plead” doesn’t sound like a 19-year-old figuring things out; it sounds like someone who already knows exactly what she wants to say and how she wants it to feel.
