Labels: Loveboat
Review by: Mike Whelan
Up until a few months ago my entire experience of Italian music was crammed into World Cup epic “Nessun Dorma.’ Needless to say, Altro veer away from this sound, yes it’s true, and instead play a garage-rock/hardcore hybrid.
“Candore’ is sung entirely in Italian, and sadly my knowledge of this language begins and ends with the word pizza. Unfortunately this takes something away from the listening experience for me. This is a shame because tracks like “Troppo Presto’ and “Ripresa’ actually sound rather good, scuzzy garage-rock songs in the vein of the Von Bondies or a less pop-ridden Hives. I assume Altro are a political band. I glimpsed a mention of French outfit Alcatraz in the “Thank-You” section (assuming of course that these weren’t song lyrics), and tenuous grasp of French hardcore informs me that Alcatraz are very much political.
This release isn’t bad, most of the tracks sound pretty good. Altro mix the medium-paced, darker tracks with upbeat songs like my own personal favourite “Persa’ (which sounds like a kind of folky marching song). Sadly the language barrier keeps me from fully enjoying this record and it is a shame that many British listeners would think the same thing.