DADAMATTO - Ti tolgo la vita

Dadamatto are a classic chitarra-basso-batteria power trio from the inland area of the Ancona province. "Ti tolgo la vita" is, however, an important milestone in breaking down barriers, clichés and stereotypes inevitably tied to genre, style, approach and line-up configuration. This long-player debut isn't just made up of fierce punk-core — or rather, that's only part of the picture: what really stands out is a dimension of disguise, of mickey-taking, of relentless caricature.

"Videodrome", the opener, is a vast, vainglorious epic, their own Dantean vision of Hell, Purgatory and Paradise, and one of the masterpieces of Italian rock in 2007. The track kicks off with sampled fragments of dialogue (monologue) over a floating arpeggio and drums, followed by a smoky, jazz-tinged little march with a blurred piano in the background (lending it an almost mystical effect). The real beginning is a nasty slab of Fugazi-esque hardcore with the bass pushed right up front, compressed and in straight time, a steamroller from hell, which ferries things into new chaotic inserts and noise-core improvisations in the vein of Cow. Then comes the vocal melody, this time built with more collage-like intent (there's even an unexpected little quote of the "Come As You Are" riff by Nirvana), twisted out of shape by an acid-industrial interlude and dissonant horn blasts, and by yet another harmonic variation. The gentle closing section hooks liturgical-cosmic keyboards onto free-form interweavings of a nostalgic music box.

"Il mio pappagallino mediterraneo", a mainstream throwaway tune in the style of late-period Marlene Kuntz, is instead the classic dip in quality that follows a masterpiece. "Sinceramente…" picks back up the metaphysical tone of "Videodrome": a sickly Jesus Lizard atmosphere (or the Italian One Dimensional Man, if you prefer) that gets tangled up in a lopsided punk-funk over a bed of feedback, shifts into a tempo change of renewed Fugazi-style nastiness (something like "In On The Killtaker"), and ends in a masterful Slint-like coda of full-on cyclical, brain-dissonant distortion (fading out with minimal electronic inserts). "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8's Rock'n'Roll!" pairs aggressive vocal parts with chaotic zones of sax and distortion, in a jazzcore crossover inspired by Primus.

"Urlo confuso" and "Spizz" are breathless sprints of scant originality (Black Flag, Negazione), but delivered with real punch, while "Disordine" moves from ragged hard-rock to a vague accordion-driven psychedelia, from violent fury to an electronic keyboard raga. "Bambola gonfiabile", another piece of Sanremo-style easy listening (or a fake version of one: see Snaporaz), lifts its key and arpeggio from the Stones' "Lady Jane" without disgracing itself, and "Natalino stammi vicino" is a nimble, soft (acoustic) lullaby somewhere between Barrett and Mariposa, with flute counterpoint and impalpable musique-concrète dissonances. "Mentre Marco dorme" is a brief acoustic-concrète interlude adorned with natural and artificial noises, while "Eros", by contrast, is another tour-de-force that picks up the long torture of "Videodrome" once again.

The question to settle is how much (and how, and where) Marco Imparato, vocals and bass, Andrea Vescovi, guitar, and Michele Grossi, drums (with help from Mattia Coletti, electronic whiz-kid, Roberto Mazzoli, Marco Bernacchia, Marco Emoli), manage to bend their stylistic borrowings to their own advantage. Despite the constant nods to overused structures, they often succeed. Whether thanks to the production or to the tightness of their interplay (open-minded too, welcoming some of the most improbable insertions and intrusions), it's a record that flows, stumbles, trips up shoddily, and sets off again demandingly. Mastered at Bips Studio in Milan, with a sprawling co-production credited to no fewer than four indie labels.

Ride the wave of great music

Add OndaRock to your favorite sources on Google Discover. Don't miss our reviews, milestones and latest news straight in your feed.

Follow on Google

09/05/2007