ZEN CIRCUS - Visited By The Ghost Of… (ristampa)

Zen Circus are a band from Pisa who began taking their first steps around the mid-90s. Back then the line-up consisted of Andrea Appino (vocals and guitar), Ufo (guitar) and Teskio (drums). After a first self-produced album, in 2001 they released "Visited By The Ghost Of Blind Willie Lemon Juice Hamington IV", through which they began to express, albeit not yet in fully focused form, what would become the defining traits of the band's first decade of existence.

A sound heavily influenced by Violent Femmes and Talking Heads (just listen to "Drivin' In My Car"), but one that above all breathes love and devotion for the Pixies – both in their English incarnation ("Milk Legs", "Weak Love") and their Spanish one ("Mexican Requiem") – who are paid tribute to even in the song titles ("Where Is My Heart?" clearly echoes "Where Is My Mind?"). The vocals are still in English and the atmospheres are decidedly far removed from what would become their most successful album, that "Andate tutti affanculo" which in 2009 would establish them nationwide as one of the best alternative bands in Italy.

In this "Visited By The Ghost …" we can already glimpse the first shoots of a body of work that would prove thoroughly rewarding over time. The band shows great versatility, alternating varied nineties-derived alt-rock flavours with delightful country-folk interludes (the pairing of "Chicken Factory" and "Jack Is American"), anguished blues (the closing "HF Modulator Blues") and highly effective statements of intent. The title of the programmatic "Folk Punk Rockers" (which opens the tracklist) is the best possible summary of the genre the trio would go on to pursue over the years.

It would take the following album, however, "Doctor Seduction", released in 2004, to get people talking about the band more widely. In the meantime, Karim Qqru had taken Teskio's place, and Zen Circus began preparing for their big leap forward. Today we can revisit their early days (with all their inevitable rough edges) thanks to this digipack reissue released by Black Candy. The only flaw is the absence of any bonus tracks beyond the original selection: a handful of outtakes from the period would have been a worthy addition to the package. "Visited By The Ghost Of Blind Willie Lemon Juice Hamington IV" nevertheless proves a pleasant surprise for anyone who knows little about the early days of the Pisa outfit.

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10/05/2011