Effetto Doppler - "Indifferenticieli"
(Mizmaze 2003, MZ 012)
Effetto Doppler - "Indifferenticieli"
(Mizmaze 2003, MZ 012)
From Aural Innovations #23 (April 2003)
Effetto Doppler are an Italian band that play a power rocking blend of song-oriented heavy rock and progressive rock that draws on both modern and classic Italian styles. The band straddle the line between hard rock, garage, and progressive, and even displays some punk and thrash tendencies. But there are certainly similarities (though less complex) to ultra potent contemporary Italian bands like A Piedi Nudi and Deus Ex Machina, though I also hear similarities to Finnish post-rock/krautrockers Circle and American prog-punkers MX-80. The band consists of Maurizio Consonni on guitar, synth, piano and vocals, Fabio Agnesina on electric & 12 string guitars, and vocals, Mauel Papis on drums, and Dario Antonetti on bass and vocals, formerly of the excellent space/psych band Kryptästhesie.
Throughout the album we are assaulted by crashing razor sharp guitars, some of which create hypnotic repetitive patterns, hence the Circle analogy, and Effetto Doppler reach similar levels of power. But at the same time the music is more clearly song oriented, with vocals in Italian which is a wonderful language for rock music (lyrics translated into English in the liner notes). Effetto Doppler excel at creating massive walls of rocking aggression while maintaining a good feeling groove. The songs are catchy and many include an excellent mixture of hard rock, punk, new wave, and progressive. It's really tough to classify these guys, though, in a nutshell, they rock hard while still writing imaginative and creatively structured songs.
But Effetto Doppler also have a spaceier psychdelic side. Among the more cosmic tracks is "Cometa", a peaceful tune that comes across like a spacey love song, with alien keyboards and lulling acoustic guitars. "La Valle Dell'oro" is another track with a cosmic love song vibe, whooshing wind tunnel synths, and Pink Floyd-ish keys. "Indifferente" has a similarly peaceful feel, but features more of the raw power chord side of the band which goes beautifully with the strumming acoustic guitar. "Xche' 6 Vento" is one of the more psychedelic songs with it's multi-layered spacey guitar parts. And "Il Silenzio" is an ultra heavy blend of space rock and thrash. Kind of like MX-80 at the Space Ritual. One of my favorites tracks on the album.
In summary, Effetto Doppler are impossible to pigeonhole as they cover a great deal of territory while retaining a clear sense of cohesion and direction. Recommended to progressive rock fans who like a solid raw rock and thrash element in their music.
For more information you can visit the Mizmaze web site at: http://www.mizmaze.it.
Contact via snail mail at Mizmaze Records; c/o Giampiero Fleba; Via F. Villa 6; 30134 Milano;
Italy.
Reviewed by Jerry Kranitz