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Zarko · 04-13-2009, 05:10 AM

Non Io – Bachi Da Pietra (2007)

GENRES – Avant Garde, Alternative Rock, Blues, Experimental

Casa di Legno - 4:02
Altri Guasti - 4:04
Non Io - 3:40
Fisica Elementare - 5:51
Lunedi - 3:17
Farfallazza - 5:53
Check Life - 4:19
Bastiano - 1:40
Giorno Perso - 5:05
Ofelia - 3:44

I really had no idea how to approach this review… It’s pretty different to what I am used to, and despite the similarity between the songs at times, everything feels so different. It’s difficult for me to even find a comparison group to Bachi Da Pietra (The Stone Worms) and their 2007 album Non Io. If anything, I would describe it as a down tempo Italian Grinderman. It has that raw garage-y intensity, whilst maintaining a blues like vocal performance throughout. The two artists in the band are Bruno Dorella on drums and Giambeppi Succi on guitar and vocals. It is fairly simple in its structure, never becoming overly extravagant, but maintaining a foreboding feeling of melancholia. I was giddy when I first discovered the album, and felt it was time I shared it with you lot. This album was recorded in the basement of a church, which may not add too much, but it gives it a nice rustic feeling.

‘Casa Di Legno’ opens up with a Succi on his guitar, pulling off a riff similar to Godspeed’s ‘East Hastings’ when it’s in its infant stages. This of course means that I instantly enjoy the piece (East Hastings being one of the few GSYBE songs I like), before Succi begins his vocals and Dorella enters the piece. His performance is one that emits the signature melancholia and grim resignation that is present throughout the entire album. It carries a ‘bare minimum post rock’ sound throughout that is simply gold. ‘Altri Guasti’ has a bit more depth, as the pace is picked up, and a few more interesting instrumentation make this another solid track. The metal drum sound is great, and adds a lot of good depth to the song. It is a fascinating amalgamation of noise, as nothing matches up perfectly, and when they do start to match up, the two break them up again, whether it concerns changing Succi’s guitar playing, or hitting the drum in an offbeat manner. Late in the song, Succi adopts a wispier vocal style, another touch that adds to the gloom and demoralising overtone to the album.

The title track, ‘Non Io’, is primarily a vocal track, with Succi’s intense performance used to release the majority of the emotion. The world they create is doom-laden, disturbing and devastated, as if the apocalypse was upon them, and they were fully expecting it. ‘Fisica Elementare’ is a slower affair, with the guitar and drum turned up, and a bit of feedback present. Succi’s voice is almost distorted as it hides behind the intensity of the instruments, making it even more foreboding than if it were as clear as day. ‘Lunedi’ carries over the loudness but it is used more sparingly, as it intercuts with an odd Succi spoken word/‘prayer’ vocal type performance. The song is structured much more cleanly, with not as many jarring pitch changes, and many of the guitar pick sounds are carried, rather than abruptly altered. It also offers up one of Succi’s more varied performances on the album.

‘Farfallazza’, the longest track on the album, is a filled with dronish guitar notes and some fairly simple drumming and percussion. There is the slightest hint of that metallic drum present in Altri, and the overall effect on the listener is some odd merger of vulnerability and being totally spaced out. It has a hint of dark post rock to it, as the song closes to some far off percussion instrumentation. The song is used in conjunction with ‘Check Life’, the next track, as one leads into the other without any real break. ‘Check Life’ carries the heaviest guitar performance, as the garage blues sound is in full force, with harsh guitar lines and note plucks that lift up and up as the song goes along, before calming down. Succi’s voice is again in ‘dark’ mode, which is most obvious and distressing when the guitars quieten down, before everything is turned back up again. It really does have some fantastic guitar work, even if it isn’t totally original at time. It is definitely a high light track from the album.

‘Bastiano’ carries on the loudness from Check Life, and similarly to the last pair of tracks, it is best appreciated when the songs are listened to in concurrence, and has the most intense combination of pace and noise. It still maintains that garage rock appeal that makes the pair different from other similar musicians. At just over a minute and a half, it is disappointingly short, but I guess this goes hand in hand with the change in style and the tone of the song – quick hostility.

‘Giorno Perso’ returns to the full time down tempo alt rock blues, which is highly reminiscent of the down tempo moments in Check Life. It is particularly nice, if not terribly different, as just a background song that doesn’t attack the senses full on. Dorella’s light intermittent vocal addition is also a fine touch. The odd experimental blues guitar picking that becomes prominent at the end is also an fascinating change in direction, as the pair almost seem lost, having no idea what to do. It’s good for a smile after such dark moods present earlier. The final track, ‘Ofelia’, carries on this bluesy guitar rock riff as Succi’s vocals become more obvious and almost more hopeful overall. It’s a nice overall change of pace from the norm of the album, and a fine ending to a fine album.

As is probably obvious from the review, it was a difficult one to describe. However, it is one of those albums that make you glad you downloaded a gig of garbage simple to find. At times it feels similar, but it still doesn’t feel like that’s a bad thing. The bluesy vocals, the alternative rock, garage sound that is just great when it pops up its head as well as the occasional post-rock drone make it a great modern blues rock album. The down tempo vocals won’t appeal to everyone, but the combination is simply a treat.

TOTAL SCORE

6.6/10

– Casa Di Legno
- Bastiano

EDIT July 22nd - A mate of mine suggested it would be the perfect soundtrack to a coffee commercial. Don't necessarily disagree

04-13-2009, 05:10 AM	#47 (permalink)
Zarko Barely Disheveled Zombie Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Australia Posts: 1,196	Non Io – Bachi Da Pietra (2007) GENRES – Avant Garde, Alternative Rock, Blues, Experimental Casa di Legno - 4:02 Altri Guasti - 4:04 Non Io - 3:40 Fisica Elementare - 5:51 Lunedi - 3:17 Farfallazza - 5:53 Check Life - 4:19 Bastiano - 1:40 Giorno Perso - 5:05 Ofelia - 3:44 I really had no idea how to approach this review… It’s pretty different to what I am used to, and despite the similarity between the songs at times, everything feels so different. It’s difficult for me to even find a comparison group to Bachi Da Pietra (The Stone Worms) and their 2007 album Non Io. If anything, I would describe it as a down tempo Italian Grinderman. It has that raw garage-y intensity, whilst maintaining a blues like vocal performance throughout. The two artists in the band are Bruno Dorella on drums and Giambeppi Succi on guitar and vocals. It is fairly simple in its structure, never becoming overly extravagant, but maintaining a foreboding feeling of melancholia. I was giddy when I first discovered the album, and felt it was time I shared it with you lot. This album was recorded in the basement of a church, which may not add too much, but it gives it a nice rustic feeling. ‘Casa Di Legno’ opens up with a Succi on his guitar, pulling off a riff similar to Godspeed’s ‘East Hastings’ when it’s in its infant stages. This of course means that I instantly enjoy the piece (East Hastings being one of the few GSYBE songs I like), before Succi begins his vocals and Dorella enters the piece. His performance is one that emits the signature melancholia and grim resignation that is present throughout the entire album. It carries a ‘bare minimum post rock’ sound throughout that is simply gold. ‘Altri Guasti’ has a bit more depth, as the pace is picked up, and a few more interesting instrumentation make this another solid track. The metal drum sound is great, and adds a lot of good depth to the song. It is a fascinating amalgamation of noise, as nothing matches up perfectly, and when they do start to match up, the two break them up again, whether it concerns changing Succi’s guitar playing, or hitting the drum in an offbeat manner. Late in the song, Succi adopts a wispier vocal style, another touch that adds to the gloom and demoralising overtone to the album. The title track, ‘Non Io’, is primarily a vocal track, with Succi’s intense performance used to release the majority of the emotion. The world they create is doom-laden, disturbing and devastated, as if the apocalypse was upon them, and they were fully expecting it. ‘Fisica Elementare’ is a slower affair, with the guitar and drum turned up, and a bit of feedback present. Succi’s voice is almost distorted as it hides behind the intensity of the instruments, making it even more foreboding than if it were as clear as day. ‘Lunedi’ carries over the loudness but it is used more sparingly, as it intercuts with an odd Succi spoken word/‘prayer’ vocal type performance. The song is structured much more cleanly, with not as many jarring pitch changes, and many of the guitar pick sounds are carried, rather than abruptly altered. It also offers up one of Succi’s more varied performances on the album. ‘Farfallazza’, the longest track on the album, is a filled with dronish guitar notes and some fairly simple drumming and percussion. There is the slightest hint of that metallic drum present in Altri, and the overall effect on the listener is some odd merger of vulnerability and being totally spaced out. It has a hint of dark post rock to it, as the song closes to some far off percussion instrumentation. The song is used in conjunction with ‘Check Life’, the next track, as one leads into the other without any real break. ‘Check Life’ carries the heaviest guitar performance, as the garage blues sound is in full force, with harsh guitar lines and note plucks that lift up and up as the song goes along, before calming down. Succi’s voice is again in ‘dark’ mode, which is most obvious and distressing when the guitars quieten down, before everything is turned back up again. It really does have some fantastic guitar work, even if it isn’t totally original at time. It is definitely a high light track from the album. ‘Bastiano’ carries on the loudness from Check Life, and similarly to the last pair of tracks, it is best appreciated when the songs are listened to in concurrence, and has the most intense combination of pace and noise. It still maintains that garage rock appeal that makes the pair different from other similar musicians. At just over a minute and a half, it is disappointingly short, but I guess this goes hand in hand with the change in style and the tone of the song – quick hostility. ‘Giorno Perso’ returns to the full time down tempo alt rock blues, which is highly reminiscent of the down tempo moments in Check Life. It is particularly nice, if not terribly different, as just a background song that doesn’t attack the senses full on. Dorella’s light intermittent vocal addition is also a fine touch. The odd experimental blues guitar picking that becomes prominent at the end is also an fascinating change in direction, as the pair almost seem lost, having no idea what to do. It’s good for a smile after such dark moods present earlier. The final track, ‘Ofelia’, carries on this bluesy guitar rock riff as Succi’s vocals become more obvious and almost more hopeful overall. It’s a nice overall change of pace from the norm of the album, and a fine ending to a fine album. As is probably obvious from the review, it was a difficult one to describe. However, it is one of those albums that make you glad you downloaded a gig of garbage simple to find. At times it feels similar, but it still doesn’t feel like that’s a bad thing. The bluesy vocals, the alternative rock, garage sound that is just great when it pops up its head as well as the occasional post-rock drone make it a great modern blues rock album. The down tempo vocals won’t appeal to everyone, but the combination is simply a treat. TOTAL SCORE 6.6/10 – Casa Di Legno - Bastiano EDIT July 22nd - A mate of mine suggested it would be the perfect soundtrack to a coffee commercial. Don't necessarily disagree Last edited by Zarko; 07-22-2009 at 04:53 AM.