"Allegretto" is a record spawned by the deranged minds of Frogwomen & Superfreak ( togheter they recorded also "Fallen In Love" in 2004 ), members of the Lepers Prod., a collective hailing from Bari – Italy. This record has a vivid basement naiveté and garage/punk sound esthetics blended with an excellent confidence with instruments playing and singing. The main influences here are the 90s and bands like Six Fingers Satellite or Steve Albini's Rapeman.
"Driving Licence" is a pretty damn effective track and reminded me of Stretchheads's "Everything's Going to Brake in a Minute". "Sunshine" has a pounding guitar bass and it's a downward disturbing rock'n'roll in the vein of Feedtime or Fear ( and now someone should be drooling all over the keyboard while reading this ). The last one is called "Safety" and it is different from the others, laid back and weirdly melanchonic it might fit among the latest, post-shitgaze albums on Sacred Bones.
The Lepers Prod. is for sure one of the most intresting realities out of the Italian underground, way ahead from the stagnant indie scene and the pretentious avantgarde-rock trend. Be sure to check them out. "Allegretto" is available on cdr for HYSM http://www.hysm.altervista.org/ and for free on their own website http://www.lepers.it/.

Three years ago i've been literarly floored by the debut of A Place To Bury Strangers, you'll find it reviewed here on Chain Dlk. The sound on this new Exploding Head is less feedback-driven and more focused on songs construction and the result is a solid album which incorporates reflective and moody lyrics that will lead you into a dark pit. Echoes of the recent past can be found in tracks like "Ego Death" that is a death tune a-la Skywave (Oliver Ackermann's previous band) with their beloved distorted backwash.
The other tracks drift from the usual blend of shoegaze attitude with darkwave.
I've had the chance to see them live in both their European tours and if the new record shows them dealing with a more accessible sound, the live-set got more violent! The last time i saw them the feedback wall was so dense that i could barely recognize the songs i've heard so many times. One of the best shows around, if you ask me. And hey, they did it, this new one is on Mute records. Be sure to check them out!

In a two year span Screen Vinyl Image soaked themselves deeper in tons of analogue synthpop and neurotic disco/house basslines. Still there's a shimmering shoegaze root mostly in the use of delays and in the singing parts.The opening track is called "Synthetic Apparition" and it's an trance-inducing instrumental resembling the first Popol-Vuh records played at double speed ( or maybe Popol-Vuh on speed? ) - then we have "Cathode Ray" where you'll hear a simple catchy refrain under layers and layers of distortions. "Slipping Away" is a slow-paced track, imagine Slowdive's aesthetics produced by Adult. "Asteroid Exile" grants goosebumps to everyone into synths – a cold pop gem that will stand as the band's timeless testament. Personal favourite, as you may have noticed. Another standout here is "Until The End Of Time" with a killer postpunk guitar bass. All tracks on Interceptors are quite different but seem to morph into each other like in the most cohesive ambient albums or soundtracks ( John Carpenter and Tangerine Dream are stated among the influences ), a step further from the previous The Midnight Sun EP. Out on their own safranin-sound on a Vinyl/CD combo.

A great debut release from Rome's Mannequin label. The record is a heartfelt tribute to the obscure, first movie by Alejandro Jodorowsky. Technology is easier these days, but they chose to play an all-analog blend of experimental-industrial with ambient parts; quite distant from everything you've ever listened to. For a comparison, let's say that this release would fit nicely among the early Musica Maxima Magnetica releases. Peter M. plays synths and drum machines here ( Kawai Sx 240, Korg Ms 20, Roland Juno 60, Roland Cr 78, Korg Kr 55 ) and Mushy sings/speaks some chilling lyrics with treated vocals.
The first one is called "The Tar" and is full of bad-vibes with voices taken from the movie."The Tree" depicts a bleak landscape, then we hear Mushy's chilling singing."The Fool" is my favourite here, an amazing eleven minutes track that shows frenzied, dark synthlines and a throbbing drum programmming; a couple of weird touches here and there and then a really scary vocal performance by Mushy over the final crescendo. The cdr comes in an oversize, 7" package. Looking forward for their further collaborations and solo works.

The Catalunian artist Salvador Francesch AKA Tibetan Red, is active since the first 80s. When i first came across his work, digging among some post-industrial compilations, it was a sudden blast; it made me think of an extreme and noisier version of Zoviet France ( both the amazing tracks on 1987's "Freedom On a Vacuum" luckily are re-issued on cd by Gracia Territori Sonor ). On this cd, his latest, the title is quite explicative because "Ritual Breathing" is a trio of tracks that deal with the concept of breathing and all the instruments used here involve the use of air to create a sound. The first one is called "Ritual Breathing" and it's a 35 minutes slowly evolving and spacious drone. "Gompa" starts with a subtle airy drone and ends with some (supposedly)Tibetan chants. Tibetan Red's compositions in 2009 sound surprisingly brighter in comparison with his very first releases but they share a similar way of toying with our spiritual side.