You think it’s a quick, fickle snap-crackle-ANTIPOP to write these album premieres? Well it ain’t, especially when the media in question comes courtesy of Italian collective Omega Squadra. The dank, mysterious caverns of Altri Occhi Ci Guardano will cause many-a listener to scratch out their ears when it hits the public. But that’s how Sound of Cobra roll, and if you’re not used to it by now you’re probably still mourning the disappearance of those Virgin mega-stores.
You need to be stickin’ it out with us over here at TMT because we tame the Cobras of the world like nobody’s business. Squadra Omega present a particularly brain-pinching challenge, however, because they can do it all if they want, and often do. “Il Grande Idolo,”for example, slides kicking and screaming into life on the wings of two dueling saxophones ripping the other’s throat out; when the hyena knife-fight calms down, a mini-drone flattens out the composition and even introduces a little computer magic until a simple, deadly rhythmic pattern forms the base of a mighty comeback. When the drums finally join in and the synths drift like a Bitchin Bajas piece you’ll peace out right there and then, but WAIT, there’s more! Specifically: more mysticism, more eclecticism, more tribalism, more rascalism, and, most importantly, more embolisms for you.
But seriously, Altri Occhi Ci Guardano is a cut above, from its echo-chamber drones to its Coleco blips to its Sylvester Anfang-y vibes to its playful guitars to its spiraling samples. Even mellower acoustic moments like “Hyoscyamus” taste like honey when they drop into your pot. Within a few deep cuts you’ll be ready to sign your life over to Squadra Omega. But that’s not necessary; seek out Altri Occhi Ci Guardano and we’ll call it good.
• Squadra Omega: https://www.facebook.com/squadraomegaband
• Sound of Cobra: http://www.soundofcobra.com
