Van Cleef Continental
Red Sisters

One of the few, true, authentic surprises of the year. A band with an extraordinary rock 'n' roll "punch" composed of Andrea Van Cleef, singer and bassist, Lady Cortez on piano, guitarist Blodio, drummer Helgast, and percussionist Lobo.

"Red Sisters" is an album that immediately stands out as one of the most powerful things I've listened to in recent times, and that can only mark an important point in its favor.

The proof comes right away in the first track, "Dry Queens", which is a much more rock 'n' roll remake than the first version that was on "8 shots, 8 failures" (their first album from 2004), here it sounds much more spirited and is much more direct (not that the first version wasn't good, on the contrary, but here it's a different story).

The remarkable skills of the pianist Lady Cortez stand out in the second song, "Then She Said", which, despite having a rather skewed and challenging rhythm, manages to be liked also because of the rather "mean" guitar riff that goes well with our Andrea's baritone voice.

Then comes the intense "Fire In My Bones", very punkish, the most aggressive track on the album.

The personalized version of Mike Oldfield's hit "Moonlight Shadow" (one of the most striking earworms of the '80s) is then stunning, here stripped of all the original niceties and embellishments, and this somewhat dark but splendid version came out.

"In A Red Rock" is a very pronounced piece, which personally makes me vaguely think of the interpretation that Marilyn Manson gives of "Sweet Dreams" by the Eurhythmics, although the comparison might seem a bit forced.

And here comes "Catherine Walks On The Water", with a somewhat dreamlike beginning, then exploding into a thunderous chorus, beautiful effected guitars, and a great performance by the entire lineup.

"Anna Lee" is the shortest and creepiest track on the album, which also talks about a serial killer.

Also "Junior Bonner" is a very convincing track, from which the phrase that titles the album comes.

Then the stoogesian "White Woman", which convinces immediately with the nice drum entrance followed by bass and guitars and a very spirited vocal performance.

A ballad amidst all this grit fits perfectly, maybe to "calm" the waters, although the term "calm" for Van Cleef Continental may not be the most suitable, given their propensity to make even seemingly quiet situations explode, and "Skulls" excellently fulfills its duty, a calm-but-not-too-calm track.

And the album closes with "Fear Of Waking Up To Find You Gone" with an atmosphere still calm and seemingly dreamy, but always with those guitars that foreshadow scenarios not entirely free from nightmares.

Van Cleef Continental stands out as truly alternative and must absolutely be included among the Italian bands from which great things are to be expected, and with the most rockish attitude imaginable. With an album like this, all the premises are there.