SATAN IS MY BROTHER - Close Your Eyes, See Black

The venture led by Francesca Stella Riva, Alessandro Midlarz, Simone Mattiolo and Luca Freddi under the name Satan Is My Brother continues with the release of their fifth album, the second for Nicola Quiriconi's Dissipatio label. It's a record that's taken its time to arrive – three years have passed since “How Far Can You See?“ – yet the effectiveness of their signature formula hasn't lost an ounce of bite.

The toolkit remains the usual one: horns, bass, percussion and electronic inserts interlocking to produce a virtuosic interplay where leaden jazz fumes, brooding ambient textures and a pronounced flair for cinematic storytelling converge, complete with psych undertones. A beguilingly sulphurous mix, this time devised to trace the various stages of a descent into a private hell in search of a new self-awareness.

A motion that develops out of a mild-paced instrumental fabric, constantly smudged by synthetic interference that widens the sound's lysergic streak ("Na+/K+"). It's the gateway to an oblique descent, an inward journey through a looming darkness, worthy of the unease of that "Ascenseur pour l'échafaud" translated into images by Alan Parker.

Every part of the whole moves in precarious balance without ever dominating, careful to shape the atmosphere in just the right way. The rhythm section is crisp but never pressing, the sax/trombone/clarinet phrasing modulates the tension without ever exploding ("Dive"), while the electronics slip into the folds, offering detail and nuance ("Null"). What emerges is a fall into a mesmerizing abyss, a gripping trajectory that once again confirms the qualities of a brilliant synergy. We may well have to wait a while longer, but it will always be worth it.

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11/02/2026