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Rating: You are on an English music site and happen to read an interview with an artist, who later turns out to be the frontman of the group in question, saying:
- Our genre is "suicide-pop";
- for the near future, my aspiration is to do many "cumshots" (you know what these are, right?).
On the same site, you see some of his photos: in the first one he is shaved, shirtless, with a large hoop earring and an entire tattooed arm while it seems he intends to suck a boob. In the other, he places his ear on the belly of a woman who is sprawled out (quite a sight), while looking at some toy soldiers placed on a completely shaved mound of Venus.
Next to it, you find the tracklist, among which you notice titles like: Bastard Angel, Jesus Died in Las Vegas, Love Through Vaseline.
Driven by curiosity, you go to check what kind of homepage these guys have: no scruffy privates, but the possibility to listen to four tracks.
What would you expect?
For me, the surprise was absolute and extremely pleasant.
Not only that.
The Spiritual Front already have several years of experience under their belt (we're at the fourth work), they are already quite successful in Europe, they are based in Rome, and therefore they are ITALIAN: the frontman Simone “Hellvis” Salvatori: voice and guitar, with Piergiorgio Ambrosi: keyboards and Andrea Freda: percussion (this is their latest line-up), has created a kind of open band.
In this album, along with other guest artists, the impact of Ennio Morricone's orchestra is notable in all 11 tracks, as is the excellent English violinist Matt Howden (Sieben), absolutely poignant in the track My Kingdom for a Horse in a spine-chilling string session, always well integrated with the choirs and Salvatori's voice, which may not have the timbre of Robert Fisher, but still manages to convey his passion.
It is difficult to categorize the suicide-pop of Spiritual Front, who themselves admit to somewhat drawing inspiration from Nick Cave, but Armageddon Gigolò, which incidentally is published, alas, by a foreign label (Germany's Trisol), seems an intense dark indie-folk fresco, with the originality of western gallops and erotic tangos, all seasoned with a nice dose of self-irony. Besides the incisive melodies, the talented Spiritual Front place at the center of this album not politics or society, but man, his emotions, his behaviors.
In such a stagnant Italian panorama, it is certainly an album that deserves maximum attention and for this, I must publicly thank that mound of Venus that led me to discover it.
Regards,
Addison.
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