Nexus
Odynephobia Conversion

The Nexus is a little-known Italian-French group that practices a very varied and original crossover, a real gamble considering the current trends, yet a much appreciated and courageous project. They debuted with the EP "No Title" where this desire to dare was already evident, and after 4 years, this unusual and singular second work is released, comprising a range of genres spanning from hard rock to hip hop, from funk to prog, from industrial to jazz and much more. Given these premises, one might assume that it is a muddle without rhyme or reason, an uneven work: instead, the result is a great success, sophisticated just right, without going overboard, rich in aggressive contaminations that harmonize seamlessly into an album that is difficult to place in any musical category.

The excellent and pulsating "Claustrophobic Box" opens the CD with a very hard riff, then spills into a logorrheic trip-hop, only seemingly softened by the French language, punctuated by a sharp bass. It continues with the neurotic funk of "Plastic Dodge" with hallucinatory sounds, then the instrumental "Ira", which presents itself as a happy psycho-hard rock interlude. "Doric Diorama" contrasts the beautiful soft and relaxing voice of the Italian Marilina Vanni with a typically dark/industrial obsessive and hypnotic sound, where the drums are at their peak, while with the following "Prolix Drifting Vagina" the tones soften, becoming smoothly jazzy. An illusory hip hop introduction transforms into a refined and dreamy prog-jazz fusion atmosphere, where a magnificent sax accompanies the excellent female vocal performance with a subtle and discreet guitar background. The vaguely progressive influence of the previous track becomes much more pronounced in the instrumental "Plaster Caster Addiction", where the Nexus recalls the art rock of King Crimson. "Cranky Diseased Man" is a neurotic and highly rhythmic rap, fused with an effective hard rock with decisive tones, pleasantly characterized by a truly remarkable Jimmy Page-style guitar. The free jazz of "In The Entrance Hall", embellished with syncopated sound effects and the saxophonist Davide Grottelli, nothing short of excellent, the whispered and rocking second part of "Ira", and the curious and short performance of the drummer "The girl who kept a fly as a pet (part III)", whose previous parts interspersed the various tracks, close beautifully this surprising "Odynephobia Conversion".

In conclusion, these Nexus convince, the technical level is high, the creativity and desire to provoke and amaze, at the expense of sales, is certainly present, and furthermore they fully satisfy various musical tastes, pleasing a bit of everyone and satisfying the most demanding listener. Boredom and repetitiveness do not reside here, and although it cannot be defined as an innovative album in a strict sense, I nonetheless consider it sufficiently avant-garde to hopefully become an inspiration for new ideas, which, especially in Italy, have been needed for some time.