Mosche di Velluto Grigio "In te ho sognato in te espero morir" Self-released
Release date: April 25, 2014
Running time: 49:25, 12 tracks
Release date: April 25, 2014
Running time: 49:25, 12 tracks
The level of the Italian Celtic punks is really remarkable. Uncle Bard and The Dirty Bastards released recently a kick-ass album. They followed an approach on which they wrote their own songs adding traditional or self-penned tunes. Mosche di Velluto Grigio has followed a different approach, but the result is the same: a top-notch album. The sextet has recorded their songs in different languages (Italian and English) and used a different instrumentation. Anyway, the so-called Anti Folk Bastards have proved that they have an original identity and they don’t need to cover traditional stuff to release a highly recommendable album.
Only one line-up change has taken place in the three years that have gone by between “You’ll Never Walk Alone-Eilé’s Diary” and “In the ho sognato, in te spero morir”. The band has a new bassist, Frankie “The Baker” Squillace and the core of the band has not changed, with brother and sister Andrea Cagnini “The King Cagno” on acoustic guitar, bagpipes and lead vocals and Laura “Miss Lalla” Cagnini on sax, flute, tin whistle and melodicas, together with Pietro Arfini “The Reverend Rapax” on electric guitar, mandolin, organ and second vocals, Fabio Dall Aglio “Captain Phabius from Garlic” on banjo, accordion, concertina and background vocals, and Corrado Cantoni “Mr. Stick” on drums, bongos and background vocals.
“In te ho sognato in te spero morir” is a well-balanced album showcasing the band’s abiltiy to write different kind of songs that fit perfectly well. There are Celtic Punk anthems, Jamaican beats, acoustic folk songs and a couple of numbers that are the band’s most mature effort to date.
Those who love straight Celtic punk songs will love the opening track “The Bastards”, a sort of a tribute to the Dropkick Muphys, a whiskey soaked bagpipes song with a pub atmosphere; “Non vedi santi oltre il blu”, a song with a catchy melody led by the tin whistle and the accordion, female guest vocals and explicit lyrics (“Va fan culo”); “XXV Aprile”, bagpipes, accordion and gang vocals together with tin whistle, and “Il Capitano Jones” a fast-paced anthem based on tin whistle and banjo with a slower wonderful end showcasing pipes and sax.
The Caribbean connection is obvious on a couple of songs in English. Organ, sax and accordion can be heard on “This is All”. “Maggie Dickson’s Pub” is a lively song with more organ and electric guitar. Other song in English has a slight DKM twist, thanks to the banjo and the accordion: “A Long Lament for an Old Friend”. The sax is awesome on this song too.
The acoustic folk side of the band is present on the last track, the Bruce Springsteen infused song “Twenty Eight Miles”. A brilliant song.
But, if you’re interested in something different, then try the following songs: “Gli Spari su Londra” and “Occhi chiusi da un po'”. The former is an upbeat song, with a sax passage in the middle, that fades out at the end with both boy and girl vocals, accordion and mandolin. The latter has a Mahones ballad twist, but is clearly Italian. And the marching band at the end of the song is fantastic!
“In te ho sognato in te spero morir” is packed in a jewel case with a four page booklet. Unfortunately, no lyrics to the songs are included. However, the artwork that has been made by the Cagno’s own design company, Laboom Design is amazing.
Only one line-up change has taken place in the three years that have gone by between “You’ll Never Walk Alone-Eilé’s Diary” and “In the ho sognato, in te spero morir”. The band has a new bassist, Frankie “The Baker” Squillace and the core of the band has not changed, with brother and sister Andrea Cagnini “The King Cagno” on acoustic guitar, bagpipes and lead vocals and Laura “Miss Lalla” Cagnini on sax, flute, tin whistle and melodicas, together with Pietro Arfini “The Reverend Rapax” on electric guitar, mandolin, organ and second vocals, Fabio Dall Aglio “Captain Phabius from Garlic” on banjo, accordion, concertina and background vocals, and Corrado Cantoni “Mr. Stick” on drums, bongos and background vocals.
“In te ho sognato in te spero morir” is a well-balanced album showcasing the band’s abiltiy to write different kind of songs that fit perfectly well. There are Celtic Punk anthems, Jamaican beats, acoustic folk songs and a couple of numbers that are the band’s most mature effort to date.
Those who love straight Celtic punk songs will love the opening track “The Bastards”, a sort of a tribute to the Dropkick Muphys, a whiskey soaked bagpipes song with a pub atmosphere; “Non vedi santi oltre il blu”, a song with a catchy melody led by the tin whistle and the accordion, female guest vocals and explicit lyrics (“Va fan culo”); “XXV Aprile”, bagpipes, accordion and gang vocals together with tin whistle, and “Il Capitano Jones” a fast-paced anthem based on tin whistle and banjo with a slower wonderful end showcasing pipes and sax.
The Caribbean connection is obvious on a couple of songs in English. Organ, sax and accordion can be heard on “This is All”. “Maggie Dickson’s Pub” is a lively song with more organ and electric guitar. Other song in English has a slight DKM twist, thanks to the banjo and the accordion: “A Long Lament for an Old Friend”. The sax is awesome on this song too.
The acoustic folk side of the band is present on the last track, the Bruce Springsteen infused song “Twenty Eight Miles”. A brilliant song.
But, if you’re interested in something different, then try the following songs: “Gli Spari su Londra” and “Occhi chiusi da un po'”. The former is an upbeat song, with a sax passage in the middle, that fades out at the end with both boy and girl vocals, accordion and mandolin. The latter has a Mahones ballad twist, but is clearly Italian. And the marching band at the end of the song is fantastic!
“In te ho sognato in te spero morir” is packed in a jewel case with a four page booklet. Unfortunately, no lyrics to the songs are included. However, the artwork that has been made by the Cagno’s own design company, Laboom Design is amazing.
The latest release by Mosche di Velluto Grigio is the evidence that a band can blend Celtic and their own country folk music influences and get a fresh sound that will be appreciated by both the Celtic punk diehard fan base and those fans that are always open to new developments of the genre. Our Italian friends can be happy: their domestic scene is alive and kicking. Now I’m looking forward to listening to the full second Dirty Artichokes CD.
Tracklist:
01 - The Bastards 1:50
02 - Gli spari su Londra 4:30
03 - Quell'uomo a Varano 3:50
04 - Il Capitano Jones 5:02
05 - Dolcissima Strega del mare 5:26
06 - Non vedi santi oltre il blu 4:28
07 - A Long Lament for an Old Friend 3:00
08 - This is All for our Ghosts 4:05
09 - Maggie Dickson's Pub 3:23
10 - 25 Aprile 2:55
11 - Occhi chiusi da un po' 5:53
12 - Twenty Eight Miles 4:57
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Review by Kinksmarkham
01 - The Bastards 1:50
02 - Gli spari su Londra 4:30
03 - Quell'uomo a Varano 3:50
04 - Il Capitano Jones 5:02
05 - Dolcissima Strega del mare 5:26
06 - Non vedi santi oltre il blu 4:28
07 - A Long Lament for an Old Friend 3:00
08 - This is All for our Ghosts 4:05
09 - Maggie Dickson's Pub 3:23
10 - 25 Aprile 2:55
11 - Occhi chiusi da un po' 5:53
12 - Twenty Eight Miles 4:57
Website
Soundcloud
Click to buy:
Amazon
iTunes
Review by Kinksmarkham
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