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Rating: Once upon a time there was post.
Our beloved felines joke about it on the eve of the new album “L’irréparable (Santeria 2004)”.
Yes, because paradoxically, not only is this album the most “cinematic” for the three from Turin, but at the same time, if you will, it is the most post-rock as there is a personal rebellion against the classic structural forms of traditional rock.
And so, unlike previous works (three to be exact considering the brief yet significant experience of “It Is”), Gatto Ciliegia tries new sonic solutions and expands the spaces by forging a pleasant twilight psychedelia, sometimes slightly bothered by electronic moans just more pronounced than in the past.
Adding to all of this, the three were able to color their music with singular and much-discussed collaborations.
The now omnipresent Max Casacci from Subsonica produces five of the dozen tracks and brings with him “his” drummer Ninja to add some quirky percussion rhythms (which instead undresses and poses moderately) in a couple of instances. It must be said that everything will seem milder than one might expect, and the presence of the two almost goes unnoticed (except when reviewing the delightful digipack that packages the album).
The compositional process has the semblance of electronic productions.
It starts from a set of loops to carve as one chooses, outlines some guitar doses (often memorable, for that matter) because deep down, post is never fully abandoned, and meditates on multifaceted and moderately complex arrangements that give the right breath to the general mood of the compositions.
We are thus a step away from the score of a hypothetical yet not too distant idea of a soundtrack. With the difference that “L’Irréparable” works perfectly even without the contribution of images because it creates them itself.
In this, in fact, the songs seem to be the music of a film catapulted into our mind with perfection.
The magnificent mood of the initial and childlike “Fly falling in love” only confirms it, between eyelashes of minimal electronics and guitars reigning over what will be revealed as one of the most inspired moments of the work.
Amid some decidedly more marked experimentalism (the interlude “Elvis a pezzi” in which more than the renowned rock’n roll pioneer, it seems like rummaging through sped-up Radiohead launched onto Mars) and intensified (the visionary openings of “Una calibro 9 per Toni Rodriguez”), one catches glimpses of old '60s breaths in the fascinating reinterpretation of “Un anno d’amore” originally sung by Mina and written by the authoritative Mogol from the golden days. For the occasion, it is flawlessly re-sung by a young Turin promise among cries of red roses and old springs captured in Polaroids.
Elsewhere, there is room for the atmospheres that had characterized *2, released a couple of years ago and happily appreciated (“La gang del pensiero” and “Dopolavoro dancing” recall it quite evidently).
Amid heart-pounding turbulence (“I seguaci di Gloria Garcia”), imminent hits for unhappy moments (the masterpiece filled with teary eyes and stars that is “Autour de notre” is a moving experience with every listen), one arrives at the successful cut-up of the title track, among guitars put on loop and French pronunciations lost among hammering and enchanting digital effects.
Until reaching the not quite impeccable closing of the circle with (ironically) “Once upon a time there was post”.
Is it a provocation?
Well, we’re not allowed to know, but still “L’irréparable”, even though it doesn’t stray much from the poetics of the “other Gatto Ciliegia,” once again shines with its own light.
So, best wishes to the cat.
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By vonhesse
An elegant and light, discreet and never intrusive album that one listens to with interest and curiosity.
L’Irréparable moves always in smoky and imperceptible landscapes where a bass, a brushed snare, and four guitar notes fill the track more than a thousand orchestras.
