🇮🇹 Rock Impressions — Experimental Aesthetics Breakdown
"This is a record that transcends every logical parameter of musical structure, at least as it is generally understood. It is best listened to in the dark... if you dare!"
RDM Records
3/14/20162 min read
🖋️ MASSIMO SALARI (Rock Impressions)
"This is a record that transcends every logical parameter of musical structure, at least as it is generally understood. It is best listened to in the dark... if you dare!
Sheen is the project born from the union of two artists: vocalist Romina Daniele and multi-instrumentalist (bass and guitar) Lorenzo Marranini. Marranini comes from a background in Rock and Folk/Blues, while Romina Daniele is already well-known as a vocalist and experimenter of the human sound—notably, she is a winner of the Demetrio Stratos International Prize, to name just one of her accolades. Together, they founded RDM Records in 2010.
This partnership has brought forth their debut album, Absence, consisting of nine tracks all sharing the same title, distinguished only by an increasing number. Absence is a forward-looking work, sung in English (with the exception of Absence 8), that refuses to be confined by the standard "song formula," which is light-years away from the music found here. The title is taken from Romina’s poem "Absence," published in 2011 in the collection Poesie 1995–2005 (RDM). According to their biography, it represents the lack of authenticity in the world, in the face of which a more personal search becomes both urgent and necessary.
Electronics play a vital role in the success of the ensemble—at times a dark shadow chasing the sound, at others a sonic carpet that highlights Daniele's voice. High notes, spoken-word passages, verses, and theatrical interpretations alternate with vocalizations that are, at times, polyphonic. Absence 2 is drawn from the poemL’Occhio Che Ascolta (The Listening Eye) and is built upon an obsessive rhythm, echoing a sound one might find in the discography of Paolo Catena. Absence 3 is rhythmic yet remains dark, taken from the poem Assenza (O Soglia Del Mio Dolore). It is beautifully interpreted by both the instrumentation and the vocals. Listening to it feels like a free-fall into darkness without a handhold; it feels bottomless. Remarkable. I only "awaken" when the Pink Floyd-esque guitar flourishes intervene—worthy companions to a journey that is both psychedelic and poetic. Absence 4 is heavy and radiates pain—a slow agony that leads directly into the next phase, Absence 5. more pain, more darkness. Absence 6 arrives as a spectral, heavy anthem bordering on Doom, featuring excellent guitar work. Absence 7 plays with vocal overdubbing, while Absence 8 is nothing short of ghostly (Antonius Rex, if you’re reading this, contact them!). The closing track, Absence 9, is a suite lasting nearly nineteen minutes—a long, frightening journey, suspended in mid-air and hanging in the void.
This is a record that transcends every logical parameter of musical structure, at least as it is generally understood. It is best listened to in the dark... if you dare! — Massimo Salari, Rock Impressions
