Artist: Incurabili
Label: ZARŠ Records
Release: 2010
Length: 39.11
Rating: 2.5/5
Incurabili is an abstract musical experiment that sprouted last year from the cabbage patch of two seasoned figures of the local “underground” music scene. Bruno Subiotto and Niko Novak are hardened music veterans who are clearly fed up with the routine of their creative homes Dicky B. Hardy, The Spoons, Borghesia and Matchless Gifr, at least judging by the recently assembled Incurabili debut “Whenever You’re Ready”, which tests your patience with an unsettling, hard-to-digest sonic slog woven together with a distant relative of the blues.
Bruno and Niko drag their blues out of the deepest backwoods of the American South, or rather, the two of them at best strain to come across as faithful reincarnators of the basic blues form, whose biggest trump card is supposedly a sharpened sense of tradition. Ok, before we unfairly accuse anyone of blasphemy, we have to take into account that the duo is boldly breaking new ground with its own, totally idiosyncratic interpretation of the blues, one that’s no stranger to rough, jagged sonic innovations. And let’s be honest, you won’t find such offbeat, quirky blues just anywhere. In setting the aromas of the Mississippi to music, Incurabili give it a bit of soul with crackling, raspy original material that develops its unique vocabulary with the help of a fearsome vocal game somewhere between raw growling and a dog’s head-cold bark, plus the confidently served-up clanging of assorted everyday objects, casually dancing on the rugged foundation of the basic instrumental inventory: guitar, bass, drums and harmonica. This fairly unusual combination of instruments is, as you’d expect, joined by no less unusual arrangements and an exotic delivery, kneaded together with punk unpredictability. The duo tries to find its way along the traditional guidelines of the blues, though let’s be honest, it only follows them with the sound of a harmonica dragged through distortion and the occasional overenthusiastic scattering of the sharpest blues licks.
At first, Incurabili might even manage to win over a few sympathies from the random listener, at least until the poor soul stops at the dry cycling through the basic blues form, which in the hands of Bruno and Niko simply can’t develop into any upgrade worth mentioning. The duo essentially does nothing but constantly juggle multicolored blues clichés. These like to show off their curves in simple, often downright unbelievably banal lyrics, which first make a mockery of the album and then finally bury even the little potential it had. Listening to them, you’ll probably struggle to shake the feeling that what’s driving Incurabili in their “inventive revitalization of the blues” is pure goofing around. “Whenever You’re Ready” basically feels like a logical consequence of that, like a completely effortless, spontaneously launched gob of spit from minimalist sonic masochism, which after a good ¾ of an hour and 13 tracks crystallizes into a faulty blues parody.
“Whenever You’re Ready” is not recommended for serving to a pair of ears used to polished musical comfort. It’s a hard-to-digest product that might delight those rare lucky ones with a refined musical taste, in our case mainly individuals who strive for sonic experiments, even at the expense of substance. As for the Incurabili debut, devoted blues fans will undoubtedly be happier to get a gift voucher for a gastroscopy.
Lineup
Bruno Subiotto – vocals, harmonica, guitar
Niko Novak – vocals, drums, objects, bass
Production
Incurabili
Tracklist
1. There’s a Woman
2. Gotcha
3. Tension
4. I Don’t want You No More
5. You and I and The Catcher In The Rye
6. Jaguar Blues
7. Insane
8. The Jowe Dog
9. Ol’ Jawbone
10. Alpha Charlie Waltz
11. St. John’s and St. Pauls Busy Day
12. Mamma’s In The Kitchen (How Much More)
13. Love is a Horrible Disease
