The Mantra Above The Spotless Melt Moon
Defeated Songs

If you feel like venting while still keeping your soul in check, perhaps lying on your bed with headphones and closed eyes, you've found the right way to do it. Among references to the most sought-after music from across the Channel, intimate reflections, prog ingenuity, touches of post-rock, and a keen taste for elegance, Mantra Above The Spootless Melt Moon release “Defeated Songs”, their first long-distance work, following the EP “Rooms”.

Only now is the album reaching their and our Italy with its beautiful closed eyes, where probably no one had noticed them; in fact, the Neapolitans manage to express themselves to the “big” audience only thanks to the London label RareNoiseRecords (moreover, the English critics have expressed their praise towards them).

From the very beginning of the work, with “Golden Mermaids”, one can sense the prog spirit of Our Folks, finding it especially in the post-rock vein. Already with “Septembers”, the dreamy and rarefied atmosphere emerges on one side, tense and unrestrained on the other. Immediately, important references to the more sophisticated Blonde Redhead, the latest Giardini di Mirò, and some Radiohead come to mind. The singer's fascinating lyrics are beautiful, reaching their peak in “Mangrove” (they often remind of the neighbor Meg). The guitar arpeggios and the explosive end of the title track open the doors to “Blanca”, beautiful with its almost dark landscapes, changes in direction, and the guitars perfectly accompanied by the brass at the end, which become protagonists in the almost jazzy elegance of the following “Clouds”, in some ways similar to the more relaxing “Rooms” and the piece that draws the curtain: “Lines Of Fire Bless The Mountain”, where once again everything is in the hands of Adriana Salomone’s seductive voice; the same happens in the storm of “Inner Season”. Partly different from the others is “Mare (Not Land)” with its distorted and purely rock surface.

After this summary, perhaps lengthy but necessary, since in “Defeated Songs” each track has its own say, I can only conclude by praising Mantra Atsmm, because they deserve it, as creators of spontaneous, intense, and incredibly effortless music.

Rating: 7/10