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Rating: Vermeer Brushes - The Spring of the Deaf
After an excellent presentation, such as the EP "Tramedannata", "The Spring of the Deaf" represents a great and worthy successor, with a vast stylistic evolution, exploring much wider musical territories compared to the EP. Unlike the latter, the influences are more subtle, now creating what is their true and proper sound. The Vermeer Brushes' signature is now consolidated. So let’s press the play button and see which musical horizons they will take us to this time.
The album opens with "Tre cadaveri nel cassetto", a song that vaguely reminds us of the counting rhymes or nursery rhymes we learned as children, with an extremely catchy melody and some elements of folk music. After this enigmatic start, we move to the surf-style "Manifesto cm 70x100", which tells of the Neapolitan crisis some time ago when we were "burdened by mountains of garbage". A song that aims to describe the hardship that every inhabitant of Naples and its province had to face every day, and the government does nothing but only "poster politics". Appreciable message, but perhaps musically it is inferior to the other songs on the album; after all, experimenting is necessary, right?
Now we can indulge and let ourselves be carried away by the dreamy ecstasy of the "mystic river" of "Cinque minuti... Una notte". A slow piano ballad, also featuring string instruments, and poetic lyrics. After this gentle pause, we move to the core of the album represented by "L'Urlo - a E. Munch". A track that describes the musical experience of Munch's expressionist painting of the same name. Different from what we were used to until now, mainly due to the fact that the role of lead vocals is entrusted to guest Lino Vairetti, singer of Osanna. Just to continue the experimentation, "Nel giardino di belzebù" once again sees the change in the group's alchemy. In this other ballad, this time acoustic, we find a vocal duet, one male and the other female, a very well-executed attempt, making us explore their melodic component even more deeply.
The sense of peace and serenity conveyed by the song is abruptly interrupted by "S.K.L.ero". A song that is meant to be a "freak-out" both musically, with the constant and hammering riff surrounded by electronic effects and concluded with a unique sax solo and textually composed of phrases with no logical connection. Moving forward, "Luce" probably represents my favorite piece of this album, given the presence of numerous elements that together create something novel and original. A song introduced by piano and a marching drum rhythm. The vocal melody again evokes components of folk music and a style typically used by singer-songwriters, but once we reach the chorus, we'll be surprised by the fact that it's sung in French and marked by sliding guitar riffs, all perfectly surrounded by a Doors-like organ.
"Incuboinuncubo" seeks its originality in electronic music, describing the nightmare of watching television today. Despite there being absolutely nothing to watch, we still spend days and nights before it. The text is a humorous description of practically all Italian TV channels, concluding with the emblematic line "I either throw away my life or the television". The epic and choral intro of "Carogna" transports us to a new dimension, with ironic and amusing verses composed of a call and response, where the call is shouted into the air, and a chorus provides the response. After a brief slow interlude where even the vocal line softens, a guitar solo appears, and then it returns again to the previous verses. To conclude the album, we have "Autogestione". A track meant to be somewhat like their "Another Brick In The Wall", featuring a children's choir accompanied by the main voice, recounting the school discomfort felt by students, rebelling through self-management, a reality that has been present for many years in Italian schools.
Tracklist
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