Sunday 3 May 2015

LORØ - 'LORØ' (Album Review)


Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 04/04/2015
Label: Red Sound Records, Dio))) Drone,
Cave Canem DIY, In The Bottle Records,
Icore Produzioni

‘LORØ’ CD//DD track listing:

1). Pollock
2). Thalia
3). A Trick Named God
4). High Five
5). Ø
6). At Mortem
7). Clown’s Love Ritual
8). Faster, Louder & Better
9). To Whom It May Conern


LORØ is:

Mattia Bonafini
Alessandro Bonini
Riccardo Zulato

Review:

This Italian trio gives many nods to Kyuss, who if you remove Sabbath from the equation (which we all realize is impossible), got this whole stoner/desert rock movement started. There is the love for the heavy, experimentation with time changes and dynamics, and most importantly, a total disregard for what the powers that be feel about the musical creations that Josh Homme and his crew imparted upon us.  

LORØ jumps in your face right away with ‘Pollock’, a tune with pounding, precise drumming provided by Alessandro Bonini, as Riccardo Zulato adds mid-range manic rapid fire guitar riffing, and Mattia, the secret weapon, provides strange off the wall additions in the form of keys, bass, and who knows what else.  

‘A Trick Named God’ is maybe my favourite track thus far and brings to mind 35007's approach to this stoner/desert rock stew.  No need for vocals because there is too god damn much going on musically!  Tight in the pocket grooves with eerie outer space effects once again provided by Mattia and overall this track makes for the perfect soundtrack for a lovely walk in the park on a sunny day with your love or an intense acid trip on a cold rainy night locked in your house alone.  

‘High Five’ is another excellent example of what this band has to offer, providing the listener once again with a tight groove of a band like, well Kyuss, and a refreshing nod to the likes of Meseski, Martin, and Wood or DJ Shadow.  The band delves into jazzy interludes which would usually warrant an ass kicking but in this case is welcome because it is well done and genuine.  

LORØ do stray into some territory which isn't my cup of tea, such as the fifth track which is a free form "industrial" noise-scape which might be best suited as background music to a horror flick,  overall though, this a killer release.  It is very cool to see a band that is willing to (as they say on their website) "play in your basement", because they realize it is important to be humble enough to start out in obscurity if you ever want to be seen as legendary, a lesson taught to us, by well,

....Kyuss.

Words by: Carlton Duff

LORØ is available via bandcamp

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