Bosnian Rainbows
Bosnian Rainbows

We had left Teresa in an apron (thoroughly soaked in blood) and with her trusty pig's head in hand, and we find her now as the front-woman of the recent project by the indomitable Omar Rodríguez López. Who, having proclaimed himself "alone, tired, and bored" with his recent musical endeavors, decided to embark on a new journey, ushering in, in his own words, a NEW PHASE of his career. Not COMPLETELY new, mind you, considering the boundless and omnivorous eclecticism of the Subject in question. But certainly, surprises are not lacking in these 48 minutes recorded in Hamburg last year and finally released in summer. Starting with a necessary premise: never was a title more deceptive...

...because one thinks of "rainbows" (Bosnian, yes -! - but still rainbows...) and imagines radiant and sunny guitars, long psychedelic jams, and various instrumental fantasies, but know that none of this is in the album next to you. Nor is it the iridescent range of colors that the title itself would suggest - these are not warm and bright colors dominating this canvas, but dark, often grim, icy tones. Not a black painting, mind you, not an impenetrable scene of uniform darkness... but menacing, gloomy atmospheres, far from liberating, indeed: they abound. Not a dark album in the full sense of the term, but a work that owes much to the background of Omar's declared listening - "in the Rainbows you hear Siouxsie, you hear the Gang Of Four, you hear a lot of England-'80s...".

And the creator seems to be fully aware of his creation, because even the drums of Deantoni Parks (the other notable name that needs no introduction) often sound dry and heavy, typically WAVE, and the structure of the pieces themselves recalls well-known canons of '80s pop-wave (listening to "Dig Right In Me," or "Worthless," will confirm this instantly). Similar characteristics are evoked by the synth-keyboard setup deployed by Nicci Kasper, who does not shy away from markedly obvious retro references. If anything, the real sense of these "rainbows" can be grasped in the variety of contributions brought by each member (of what is effectively, let it be said here, a SUPERgroup): thus, Teri Gender Bender's garage audacity meets Omar's guitar inventions (here not inclined to long solos, in total adherence to the project's philosophy), settling on the synthetic grass of Kasper's keyboards and the relentless rhythm of Parks.

There are some flaws - and it would be hard not to find them, given the very short production times and especially since the sound has been defined in a few months of concerts: among them, the reduced impact of Teri's voice (who also penned the lyrics) compared to its live performance. The pieces are somewhat overloaded by synthesizers, so that at times the voice reaches the ear more filtered and "muffled" than one might expect. But partly it is the same, fiery Guadalajara vocalist who has worked on her style by expanding her expressive range, so that what is lost under the synthetic layer is regained in versatility.

Those who have enjoyed the bloody fury of Le Butcherettes will need to make an effort to recognize that same fury, now turned into enveloping sinuosity as in the first part of "Eli", a worthy manifesto of the band's potential; while "I Cry For You" - frame aside, very "Berlin"/synth-pop/decadent - leans more towards the Teri already known, with complete ease even on the high notes; and with the usual interpretative charge (listen to the convulsions of "Mother Father Set Us Free"). Remarkable, though not excessively surprising, is Omar's work on "Morning Sickness," "Always On The Run," and "Torn Maps," where it is especially his writing that stands out magnificently...

...but the real calling card, the one that compels you to say "this album is definitely worth a listen" are the over 6 minutes of "Turtle Neck," a mini-suite with variable mood in which is set a not very long guitar FUGUE, but particularly "frippian" (...) by Omar. And I would say that on this note we can conclude... 

4/5.