TOMVIOLENCE - Tomviolence

Despite the moniker, the music of Tuscan outfit Tomviolence has

very little in common with Sonic

Youth and noise-rock. Among the nine tracks of this self-titled debut,

instead, you'll find the kind of rock sound we've long insisted on calling

post- , following pretty precise coordinates: Slint, Mogwai, June Of ‘44, and so on.

An electric, melancholy-tinged fresco which, thanks to the contribution of

violin and sax, can also turn refined, or rather boundless, in its probing exploration

spiritual depths that, for example in "Walthamstow Central" (with the

electronics of Luca Di Mira of Giardini Di Miro), express well the sense of

a symphonic quality we might call "introspective", able to flourish

relentlessly and in crescendo.

In its own way, a band that can be epic in

sketching out shadowy zones and streams of crepuscular light ("To Set Something

Convivial"), and, beyond rock, also manages to draw on that

"chamber-music" breath which has distant roots and timeless prospects ("Too Steaming To

Impress"). Plays of nuance, plays of digital pulses and distant voices,

complete with glockenspiel (Carlo Frigeri of Joe Leaman) in "Another Fashion

Victim".

All of it, deep down, something already heard somewhere, already foreshadowed,

but, to tell the truth, still always vital, still able to take us beyond

ourselves, just enough to keep us from ever losing control for good.

We know all too well how to cradle ourselves carefully within the folds of a dream that,

sooner or later, could turn into an endless nightmare, even if it's genuinely

hard to make out its contours, hidden as they are behind an opaque face

("Heartbeat"). And when autumn strips the trees bare out there and freezes the

silence, what could be better than putting on a minimal, fragile ballad,

stripped to the bone in heart and soul, like "Good Morning"? And if you're looking for something

that will at least bring to mind the band behind "Evol", then

"No Years Old" (torn open by sudden electric jolts) and "Quite

Good Not Song" (math-rock as it should be, with the noise reduced to just

a lumpy, rough, seething surface, reached via difficult routes, amid

ups and downs and perilous shortcuts) should be enough for you.

A promising debut, in short,

despite being a bit too mannered. But then again, that's not

really a flaw, not least because we believe the talent is all there. And that's

why we're willing to give them some slack, though, incidentally, from now on

from here on, only genuine leaps in quality and a stronger dose of personality will do.

Ride the wave of great music

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30/04/2026