By: Dave Allan Guzda
Australasia | website | facebook | bandcamp | soundcloud |
Released on September 21, 2015 via Apocalyptic Witchcraft
File under better late then never, here is the review for Australasia’s latest release Notturno. Australasia is the work of multi-instrumentalist Gian Spalluto. Spalluto plays ‘blackened Post-rock with a touch of vintage Electronica‘. I’ve had the pleasure of reviewing other Australasia albums in the past. They have consistently impressed me with a high level of quality, musicianship and creativity. ‘Notturno’ is the current album and adds another solid work to his growing discography.
The cover art sets the tone of the album perfectly. It depicts a lantern covered in moths, the moon, dark eerie tree branches and of course the enveloping darkness of the night. I heard a slight change in Australasia’s sound for this album. In the past, albums like Vertebra and Sin4tr4 had a ton of jagged, twisted metal pulsing throughout them. In contrast I found Notturno smoother without the sharp aggression of the previous releases. Notturno takes on some of the more serene and foreboding elements typically associated with the night. That said Notturno is not a snoozefest by any measure. It merely maintains a more consistent tonal level with few dramatic peeks or plummeting valleys found on previous albums. The second track ‘Eden’ illustrates this with its wonderful melodic, catchy, clean sound that bounces between atmospheric guitar and bubbly electronica. The guitar notes fade between each other with long fluid waves of tremolo as drums clatter, cymbals crash and piano keys dance together in pensive unity. This vibe continues with the heavily post-rock flavoured jaunts ‘Kern’ and ‘Creature’. Australasia brings the music to the edge of aggression then remember it is night and turns down a more tranquil and melodic path instead.
There are a few short samples interspersed throughout the album. The only real vocals appear on the track ‘Invisibile’. The angelic and entrancing vocals of Mina Carlucci (who is the singer for neofolk band Vostok) return to make another notable contribution to an Australasia album. Most of this release has an ethereal and peaceful atmosphere. This is magnified on ‘Invisibile’ as Carlucci’s captivating vocal harmonies float beside Spalluto’s wispy guitar. The composition simply elevates to an moving and highly emotive state. Listening to this immersive album simply made me feel good, relaxed and musically satisfied.
Sometimes synth doesn’t work well with guitar. But Australasia finds a refreshing balance and has each in the right portions. With this album synth is often used to introduce mood and atmosphere. Gentle quirky electronic melodies build into passages with dramatic guitar. This instrumental partnership works well on ‘Haxo’ and ‘Lumen’. The meaty bass synth midway through ‘Amnesia’ is quite striking and serves as a high point during this sinisterly groovy track. I’ve always been a big fan of incorporating strong piano melodies in rock music. So I found the final track ‘Notturno’ a beautiful way to close out the album. It is a slow, delicate and wholly charming piano lullaby that softy embraces you in moonlight and twinkling stars as you’re enveloped by the darkness of the night.
Notturno is another remarkable musical journey by Australasia. The album poignantly focuses upon melody and atmosphere evoking the spirit of the night. The aggressive sharp sonic edges found in previous albums are replaced by a smooth marriage of post-rock guitar and affecting electronica. ‘Night’ can of course mean different things to different people but this sonic interpretation by Australasia illustrates a colourful, dreamy space that I’ll close my eyes and visit again and again.
tl;dr: Dreamy and melodic, ‘Notturno’ is another solid release by Australasia which focuses on a post-rock/electronica blend of captivating sonic atmospheres inspired by the enigmatic aura of the Night.
Note: Notturno is Italian for night.
