Antstreet 2013
A mental trap and a call for meditative measures turns into a humorous view of this world for Italian supergroup.
Ambush!
When it comes to rotten things, singer Nicola Briganti is sort of a specialist, not only working in KLOGR, with whom he recently recorded the "Till You Turn" EP, but also fronting this elitist quartet comprised of his equally experienced compatriots. Their collectively egalitarian, if somehow predatory, position is best served on an imaginative arrangement of “I Am The Walrus” yet that’s as far as latching onto tradition goes, whereas on the band’s original the Italian team balance middle distance shoegazing of the vocals with the arena-sized guitar riffs courtesy of another LENA’S BAEDREAM’s member, Carlo Alberto Morini. Such a combination is never more so obvious than in “I Wear Black ‘Cause I’m Blue” from which the ensemble’s humor seeps, while “Dead Poets Society” sets a simultaneously serious and frivolous tone to the album.
Catchy from the get-go, the songs ebb and flow around spiky reefs until the record hits the swampy blues of “Blinded By The Light” in but not before the voodoo of the track titled after the group. Or was it vice versa? Controversy’s the name of the game here, “Get More” taking a swipe at emotional consumerism as Simone Benati’s meaty bass gives it all a gloomy undercurrent, but “Jerk” has a commercial, if still heavy, air vibe to it, as does “Dorothy” possessing a powerful groove and a great tom-tom job from Michelangelo Naldini. Music menacing and even belligerent, “Bushido” brings it to a life-affirming close where the sway gets slow and the listener feels grateful for this ambush which makes one’s blood run hot.
****1/4
