 |
| picture by Massimo |
SLOI is a new band from Trento, Italy, that's probably been around
since 2019.
Featuring the singer of Impulso (who also plays in the great Lucta and Tuono and also in Astio that I'm less fond of) on guitar (and most probably other members of these bands), Sloi has already more than enough in that short description to
make the old punk addict that I am quiver with excitement.
The band's name comes from "a lead factory that poisoned the area over 40 years ago, called
Società Lavorazioni Organiche Inorganiche. Many of its workers died of lead poisoning, while others took their
own life in the Pergine Asylum, where they were being treated as
mentally ill". This is a good example of a band that draws on recent local history for a change, good!
This little review is a good opportunity to write a few words about the Oltre Lo Sguardo compilation and Sentiero Futuro Autoproduzioni, the young DIY label that put it out.
Sentiero Futuro Autoproduzioni is a young DIY structure
which can be compared to the very good
Occult Punk Gang collective which unfortunately stopped all activities last year. It roughly means
that they're supporting the DIY Italian punk scene in general and
the Milanese one in particular (the collective/label, whatever you
wanna call it, is based in Milan). It is managed by a bunch of people involved in bands like Skalp, Spirito Di Lupo, Kobra, Anno Omega, Golpe etc... (basically most of the current punk bands and collectives based in Milan). It also includes
Giacomo (already involved in OPG) who writes for
Noisey Italy
but most importantly plays in
Kobra
and writes a lot of cool records reviews on
Generic Record Reviews And Weekly Ramblings
(aka GRRAWR).
So the label only came to life really recently as it's in October 2020,
with the release of the above mentioned compilation, that its first
record blasted through the ears of punks from all over the Italian
peninsula. The tape features 20 tracks from 20 bands including some of
my favourite recent Italian hardcore punk bands like Tuono,
Lucta, Impulso, Kobra, Golpe,
Idiota Civilizzato (based in Germany but singing in Italian) and,
of course, Sloi. A must-have compilation which gives a powerful
and relevant snapshot of the country's DIY punk scene. It even includes
a track by the holy fathers of Milano hardcore, the world famous
Wretched.
And on top of that all proceedings go to
Ambulatorio Medico Popolare, a volunteer-run organization which
"self-manages a medical facility providing free healthcare to illegal
migrants and other marginalized identities" in Milan, which is cool. The
tape's B side is actually the story of this place told by the ones
running it (the activists and volunteers).
I'm not gonna write much more about this tape (just treat yourself,
pump up the volume and press play) as today's subject is Sloi and
their next release is a lot more relevant in terms of music (in fact the
compilation track is also on their self-titled tape).
Sloi's debut release was released by Sentiero Futuro Autoproduzioni mid-April 2021 and the first thing that came to my mind, while the first seconds of La Fine were shredding my eardrums, is the sound similarity with Kobra's album (Confusione) (which was not recorded at the mobile Frizzer Studio for "bands-on-budget" like Sloi's tape though). And you don't just sound like that by mistake, it's clearly the result of a strong "artistic" choice. I don't know if the raw sound (edging with total shit sometimes to be really honest) of the early Italian hardcore classics was the main motivation behind the recording policy but it really sounds like someone just turned all the sliders to maximum in the morning of the session and that's it... which is not totally true actually as the guitars and the bass do sound "classically" good (you know what I mean) while the rest is super dirty to the point of listening displeasure. I guess it's the result of a digital post-recording effect and it therefore does not sound close to the "cheap" and "weak" tape sound of the 80s (where the whole sound is a lot more equally "crammed"/"compressed"). The result is powerful yes but also almost deafening, the cymbals are actually painful to listen to (and Sloi's drummer loves cymbals), the kick is super loud and even the vocals sometimes are way beyond the overload threshold...
I understand the idea of being a super raw and noisy D-beat
band (the "wall of noise" thing you know) but honestly, even though the cassette has only seven
tracks, I'm almost relieved to get to the end
because it becomes very unpleasant at some point... And most
bands do sound raw and powerful without making you feel tied
up in their ten square meter rehearsal room where all amps
are stuck on maximum....
I'm surprised to have never read anything about it in the
few reviews I've found (mostly about Kobra) but it's
clearly a really important point concerning this band's sound and the way you/I perceive it as a
listener.
This being said these guys play some killer raw punk /
d-beat shit!
It's fast, it's raw, it's super punk but it does not sound
like another D-band, I'm not even sure that the D-Polit Buro
would officially let them join the party (it's always worth
a try though, the general assembly is fun). No Sloi clearly sounds like a mix of
Scandinavian and Italian hardcore, the guitar riffs'
heaviness recalls the grey Swedish sky while there is
obviously a strong Italian identity (the language and the
noisy furiousness maybe). Furious is probably the key word here, seven furious and enraged songs full of a derisory reluctance in front of the hidden face of an Italian system that inequalities and a widespread of assumed fascism have made so repulsive for decades now... And hardcore punk is the perfect medium to spit it all out!
Of course like everybody writing
three lines about any Italian hardcore band I have to drop
the same old names of
Wretched,
Indigesti,
Impact,
Cheetah Chrome Motherfuckers,
Raw Power,
Negazione
etc... Ok here they are you can do whatever you want with
them now (if you're curious about Italian hardcore you can
check Romain's very thorough post on his blog, the two parts are
here
and
there).
I can also think of the other
Kobra, the one from the 80s Milano scene, which got the same
kind of heavy hardcore punk sound (with an unfortunate taste
for lame guitar solos though).
Yes I definitely love what Sloi is doing and I'm sure they're killing it on stage but I am still a little bothered by the production which makes, in spite of all the mastery and the power of the tracks, the listening rather unpleasant...
There has been recently a certain revival of interest from "big" American punk labels for raw Italian productions, there is of course Kobra on Iron Lung Records but also very recently Golpe on Sorry State (super good album by the way if you like classic throaty vocals d-beat) and it seems that Sloi is also entitled to a US vinyl release soon on Iron Lung.
So keep your eyes open for a vinyl version very soon.
N,J'Oi!
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire