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Title: Rotten Roma Casino
Artist: Spiritual Front
Genre: Nihilistic Suicide Pop
Release Date: 24th September 2010
Label: Trisol



Album Review

A smoking cat, crying and playing harmonium, looking at us from the cover of the new SPIRITUAL FRONT album ‘Rotten Roma Casino’ sort of acts like the receptionist, or guardian to a Rome that is completely different from the city you might know, a twilight-infused place, subject to decay and decadence. But can it be called a cold, a frigid place by that? No, it cannot, considering how the twelve tracks on the new album turn out. Just for explanation: A dark room is a sparsely illuminated or completely dark room where sexual activities “can” occur. Why am I telling you this? Because of the first songs title ‘Darkroom Friendship’, a song basing on forceful drums amidst orchestral elements, mixed with a tango flavour and a pinch of indie, and on top Salvatori’s accentuated vocals that might have a seductive effect on one or the other once he sings “This is a darkroom friendship / a friendship made of flesh and love” An undying passion, an irresistible appeal glows inside the heart of ‘Sad Almost A Winner’, opening up with a poignant orchestral motif that even later in different colouring glides around the lightly dancing drums and the self-consuming vocal style of Salvatori.

Wonderful acoustic pop sounds with a longing orchestra passage added guide you into the tale of ‘My Erotic Sacrifice’, a tale touching to you to the quick and which you’ll greet with rapture over the magnificence of its arrangement, if you’re a sound fetishist like me, that is. Up for a tango? Then let me invite you to ‘Kiss The Girls And Make Them Die’, but be warned, this won’t be a usual tango, except you’re used to doing country tango of course. Bold, astonishing and in the same vein refreshing how many styles are at play in this song. Even more when you recognize how fluid the interplay of all of them is! One masterpiece of a song that is and it comes up with a grand representative of a chorus, pervasive and caressing. Now we’re taking a little detour into hot Mexico, a town bell rings and then a trumpet is ringing through the air, while a hot-blooded lover sets out to get redemption “The days of anger will be in the light of my revenge” Has he been deceived? I assume he has. The converging of the fiery trumpet style with the dramatic score-like string passages and the dynamic drum play somewhat builds a connection to the listener and make them feel what the protagonist feels.

‘Black Dogs Of Mexico’ initially sounds a little dirty and my first guess was it becoming a fair outbreak into blues or something, instead I’m being confronted with a fluffy country tune, well not fluffy as in trivial. In fact, it’s making even grouches like me listen to a song off that genre once in a while now, at least if it’s one of SPIRITUAL FRONT. The closing act is presented with a yearning ballad for which Simone has enlisted some support by L’AME IMMORTELLE and PERSEPHONE vocalist Sonja Kraushofer. At times she’s literally drowning out Salvatori with her mighty timbre. How to call an album as diverse as that, fusing apparently incompatible styles with a distinct pop flavour and a penchant for effervescent dramatics to perfection? Some might call it plethoric by hearing that, but will be surely silenced if getting to listen to ‘Rotten Roma Casino’ since it doesn’t feel like too much at any time. It feels like beautiful music.


Tracklist

01. Darkroom Friendship - 3:18
02. Sad Almost A Winner - 4:05
03. My Erotic Sacrifice - 4:09
04. Kiss The Girls And Make Them Die - 3:33
05. The Days Of Anger - 4:23
06. German Boys - 3:13
07. Odete - 4:38
08. Black Dogs Of Mexico - 3:02
09. Song For Johnny - 3:50
10. Bare Knuckle Boy - 3:36
11. Cold Love (In A Cold Coffin) - 3:24
12. Overkilled Heart - 5:48


Line-Up

Simone "Hellvis" Salvatori - Vocals, Guitar
Andrea Freda - Drums
Giorgio Maria Condemi - Electric Guitar
Federico Amorosi - Bass


Website

http://www.spiritualfront.com/ / http://www.myspace.com/spiritualfront


Cover Picture




Rating


Music: 8
Sound: 9
Extras: -
Total: 8.5 / 10


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