Dysrhythmia/Rothko
Fractures EP

This Split between Dysrhythmia and Rothko lands right on my plate. And I'm not complaining at all! "Barriers and Passages" last year literally stunned me with its technical prowess and the imaginative instrumental fabric of fine craftsmanship that would captivate anyone from the first listen.

The offering of "Fractures" is, however, it's better to say it right away, slim: only one track from our band and two from the English band that I didn't know at all. Yet, what remains is the substance, the running time is scarce but what makes up the work is of good value. Dysrhythmia "recycles" that "Earthquake" present in their first self-titled and very limited edition album (never reprinted), adapting the song to the current dissonances that characterize the trio in the last two albums; the result is 14 minutes of passion. The sulfurous, skewed rhythm, with the bass in great prominence and the usual technical vigor is the opening to the abrasive guitar cavalcade, a progressive legacy but also a psychedelic desire to amaze, to lift you so high only to leave you falling into the void due to sudden vibrations of an instrument that has secretly turned vicious. More reverberations in the tail, as if they wanted to create the soundtrack for the end of a nightmare, when the atrocities have been completed and nothing remains but calm. In short, another test of tenacity from a band to whom it seems that nothing and no one can set limits.

Rothko, on the other hand, begin with the ethereal arpeggio of "Tell your Story to the Winds", a title that could not be more illustrative in helping to imagine a scene when listening to this song... we are in the midst of a suggestive rock/ambient that leaves you in awe, delicacy is not exactly the word, but it’s the first thing that comes to mind. The arrangements with floating synthesizer notes are also present in the following "Torch", which, however, didn't fully convince me... too "light", too insubstantial to appeal to me... Nonetheless, Rothko is worth reviving given their vast discography which I will recover thanks to these tracks on "Fractures".

In short, this EP, while not transcendent, could be a good opportunity for those who don't know one or both bands to fill the gaps at an honest price, and for collectors not to miss even one "episode" in the releases of their favorite band. Whether it's Dysrhythmia or Rothko.