Supersystem

From Washington to Romagna, for the fourth time. Supersystem must really like the Romagna coast, judging also by the success of last summer's concert held right on the beach at Marina di Ravenna, an event that many locals still remember fondly. One of the most memorable moments of an uncertain 2005 summer, at the Bagno Hana-Bi, the same crew as the Bronson, to which Supersystem now return to cement an already important relationship that has turned the arrival of the Washingtonians, formerly El Guapo, into an eagerly awaited event for a crowd only recently emerged from some fifteen years of unwavering (and somewhat blind) hardcore intoxication.

It's also the excellent live delivery, the ripe fruit of a sort of never-ending tour reminiscent of Dylan, that has probably driven the band - which started out in an impro-rock vein (apparently more than one member studied under Anthony Braxton!) - to evolve toward a sound tied to the more experimental forms of early new wave, later straightened out, with 2003's "Fake French", into pop-rock territory (one of the most promising combinations of the early 2000s), all the way to the groove-oriented sound of "Always Never Again", which also marked El Guapo's rebranding as Supersystem, with the arrival of permanent drummer Joshua Blair (also a member of the ferocious Orthrelm). The live rendition of the latest tracks is undoubtedly a winner, and the band confirmed as much on Tuesday at the Bronson too, even if they seemed slightly heavier-handed compared to last summer's thoroughly positive performance.

Only two songs were dug up from "Fake French": "Justin Destroyer", placed at the start of the set, and an excellent rendition of "Glass House" - though the unforgivable absence of the ultra-catchy "Just Don't Know" was sorely felt, a pop masterpiece by a band whose songwriting is as essential as it is built from plenty of simple details, superb vocal interplay and an impeccable, propulsive rhythm section, with Justin Moyer (also known as Edie Sedgwick, but only when dressed as a woman...) always prominently on display and darting all over the stage.

The choice that didn't come across as entirely convincing - aside from Pete Cafarella's excessive insistence on a rather grating synth sound - was to stretch out most of the songs into outros that weren't particularly inspired and served only to segue seamlessly into the next track. That said, there's no arguing with the impact of songs like "Born Into The World" and the variation on the theme of "Six Cities", as well as the driving "Everybody Sings", "The Love Story" and "Miracle", the latter likely the peak of the whole concert.

Amid house digressions and instrumental outros, Supersystem also find time to air a handful of new songs which, however, between quasi-Dischord-style stop-and-go sketches and punky reprises of the stylistic blueprints of "Always Never Again", don't come across as particularly striking on a first listen.

To anyone accusing the band of having sold out - after an extremely promising start built on highly original pop - to the gospel of dance-floor trends, it's still worth recommending that they catch them live, where the ensemble's new qualities come across far more fully than on record, which in fact leaves the band stuck in that limbo between old fans turning up their noses and real success that remains elusive, perhaps due to the lack of a truly charismatic frontman (or a real asshole, depending on your point of view) or a signature song - though this is offset by an already quite respectable back catalogue.

So despite some questionable choices, Supersystem remain, over time, an admirable and generous band, as they perfectly proved with the concert's finale: the full-throttle techno-rock of "Defcon", which got everyone dancing, and during which Justin Moyer flung a good fifteen or so t-shirts out into the crowd (self-promotion?) - which yours truly, displaying a rock'n'roll spirit close to nil, didn't even catch a glimpse of.

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