Cassette Review: Paolo Spaccamonti & Daniele Brusaschetto "Burnout (august session)" (old bicycle records)

[8 CHF // Edition of 120 // https://oldbicyclerecords.bandcamp.com/album/burnout-august-session]

As my second cassette from Old Bicycle Records I was expecting "Burnout (august session)" to be something along the lines of improvised jazz or the works of Stephanie Lak.   I'm not sure why this combination of artist names made me think of that, or if it was even the influence of the previous cassette I listened to (Mulo Muto / BETA split) but I went in with a notion stuck in my head that turned out to be wrong.

This cassette begins with mechanical siren loops which can sound like some kind of alarm.    There are guitar notes in the background of this, possibly even bass notes, and it has this FNL quality to it.   Through moments of sharp feedback it remains melodic with somber strings.    It has that crushing sense of "Jaws" before loud guitar chord fury kicks in.   If anything, Side A reminds me of a more traditional rock band of sorts, perhaps even stretched so far as to be an instrumental version of Nirvana.

Side B begins with the dark piano note progressions of doom.   This becomes mechanical and electronic, like a train engine going in loops with the beeping sound of what appears to be a saxophone.    Sharp feedback returns and this continues to grow with the intensity of an army march.    It returns to those moments of being FNL again and then by the end it almost feels like it's drone though something about it quite isn't.

While I could give you any number of names to compare this with in the non-FNL or traditional rock side of things and maybe even just as many in the FNL side of things, the fact is that I can't think of any artist off of the top of my head which combines elements of both.   It seems like either you sound like Lak or you sound like The Cancer Conspiracy but you don't sound like both.

Being able to mix these similar elements that haven't been blended before (to my knowledge) creates something new and it works exceptionally well.    As you begin to think more about it, you'll realize this is a style pairing that should have existed before now and that just makes it even more perfect.