Deadbolt01
09/29/08, 02:16 PM
Il Rumore del Fiore di Carta - Fallen
Record Label: None
Release Date: 2008
Foreign language music is often shunned by music fans from English speaking countries. Whether it’s due to not being able to understand and appreciate the lyrics, plain nationalist ignorance or something else, it is rare for a band that would be considered away from the mainstream -- from Italy, for example -- to be appreciated by a North American or British audience. Of course, there are the chosen few: Sigur Ros springs to mind, if you call that foreign language music -- but even these seem mostly enjoyed by the musically knowledgeable few, the alt-rock hardcore who know notably more about their stuff than the other 99% of the population. So what of Il Rumore del Fiore di Carta, a mostly instrumental group with ideas influenced by acts varying from Radiohead to Sumner McKane? Is it possible for a band like this to break free of their shackles and grab a hold of less well-versed ears? The Italian name would put off many, but listen closer and you may find they have something to offer.
Fallen is Il Rumore del Fiore del Carta's 2007 follow up to the dreamy post-rock outfit's self-titled effort, and it begins on decidedly slow note. The simple digital melody of opener "Nestor 10" brings the listener into a kind of comfort zone that is pleasant on the ears, but, without the accompaniment of what is to follow, offers little in the way of purpose.
Indeed, it is not until the fourth track of eight that Fallen's effected beats and quiet instrumental loops begin to dissolve into something with more intent. The smooth sound of trumpet rings out in "Ambassador," a distant, hazy sound that climaxes in some faster, heavier guitar work that is used to good effect again on the following track. Still, though, the guitars are not overwhelming, and the dreaminess of the record (and you have to think of Fallen as a record, not a set of songs) remains.
Vocals on Fallen are scarce, but used to perfection. The cries -- not singing, not screaming, but desperate, Italian cries -- that reach over the backdrop of the guitars chill the blood. The fact that the words cannot be understood by non-Italian speakers like myself strangely adds to the effect. The passionate yells somehow sink into the soundscape, sounding musical rather than vocal.
The arrival of a track possessing a title as poignant as "Leon 1954" is hint enough to the listener that the moment that Fallen builds up to is nigh. Again it starts slow, the radar-like beep providing the backdrop beat for more nostalgic post-rock-meets-late-night-jazz-club trumpet. As echo-y Italian singing joins the ensemble, the listener can be forgiven for believing that the album is a re-shuffle of its self-titled predecessor: easy, floaty listening, undeniably enjoyable, but no real intent. But then, all of a sudden, the listener's comfort zone is ripped apart by a wall of guitar noise that reveals a whole new punch to Fallen. Not only is it a wake up call to a listener expecting more of the same, but a wake-up call to the world, reminding them that Italian music does not purely comprise of opera and Europop.
A new element of Il Rumore del Fiore del Carta's sound emerges out of more electronic beats, as quiet piano is eventually joined by a synth melody. This impossibly simple line captivates with apparent ease. Quiet and dream-like, yet hypnotically powerful, the gem that lies in Fallen’s ten-and-a half minute title track is enough to make any human feel emotionally submerged.
The trance-like state that one is left in after this effortless beauty is one that is set up perfectly for the sonic flight of Fallen's final track, "Mira," fading out with yet more grace and ease from this outrageously talented group of musicians. All thoughts of how on earth these songs are constructed, how the band members managed to share such a vision and how band can improve on this feat are left for much, much later, as you are wholly enveloped by, and have indeed, Fallen.
And, having recovered enough to take stock, it can be said that Il Rumore del Fiore del Carta can improve. The effect an album by these musicians could have on a listener if they recorded an LP with a particular idea, a picture in mind that they could transmit with their sound, would be monumental. While this record is phenomenal, it is just music -- superb music, but music all the same, and it is perceivable that it could be more than that. Because with Fallen, it would appear that trumpets, synthesized beats and the occasional punch of distorted guitars have the potential to do great things if in the right hands.
Some of these hands belong to Il Rumore del Fiori di Carta.
Sumner McKane; Radiohead's Kid A & Hail to the Thief; Neutral Milk Hotel
myspace.com/irdfdc (http://www.myspace.com/irdfdc)
Record Label: None
Release Date: 2008
Foreign language music is often shunned by music fans from English speaking countries. Whether it’s due to not being able to understand and appreciate the lyrics, plain nationalist ignorance or something else, it is rare for a band that would be considered away from the mainstream -- from Italy, for example -- to be appreciated by a North American or British audience. Of course, there are the chosen few: Sigur Ros springs to mind, if you call that foreign language music -- but even these seem mostly enjoyed by the musically knowledgeable few, the alt-rock hardcore who know notably more about their stuff than the other 99% of the population. So what of Il Rumore del Fiore di Carta, a mostly instrumental group with ideas influenced by acts varying from Radiohead to Sumner McKane? Is it possible for a band like this to break free of their shackles and grab a hold of less well-versed ears? The Italian name would put off many, but listen closer and you may find they have something to offer.
Fallen is Il Rumore del Fiore del Carta's 2007 follow up to the dreamy post-rock outfit's self-titled effort, and it begins on decidedly slow note. The simple digital melody of opener "Nestor 10" brings the listener into a kind of comfort zone that is pleasant on the ears, but, without the accompaniment of what is to follow, offers little in the way of purpose.
Indeed, it is not until the fourth track of eight that Fallen's effected beats and quiet instrumental loops begin to dissolve into something with more intent. The smooth sound of trumpet rings out in "Ambassador," a distant, hazy sound that climaxes in some faster, heavier guitar work that is used to good effect again on the following track. Still, though, the guitars are not overwhelming, and the dreaminess of the record (and you have to think of Fallen as a record, not a set of songs) remains.
Vocals on Fallen are scarce, but used to perfection. The cries -- not singing, not screaming, but desperate, Italian cries -- that reach over the backdrop of the guitars chill the blood. The fact that the words cannot be understood by non-Italian speakers like myself strangely adds to the effect. The passionate yells somehow sink into the soundscape, sounding musical rather than vocal.
The arrival of a track possessing a title as poignant as "Leon 1954" is hint enough to the listener that the moment that Fallen builds up to is nigh. Again it starts slow, the radar-like beep providing the backdrop beat for more nostalgic post-rock-meets-late-night-jazz-club trumpet. As echo-y Italian singing joins the ensemble, the listener can be forgiven for believing that the album is a re-shuffle of its self-titled predecessor: easy, floaty listening, undeniably enjoyable, but no real intent. But then, all of a sudden, the listener's comfort zone is ripped apart by a wall of guitar noise that reveals a whole new punch to Fallen. Not only is it a wake up call to a listener expecting more of the same, but a wake-up call to the world, reminding them that Italian music does not purely comprise of opera and Europop.
A new element of Il Rumore del Fiore del Carta's sound emerges out of more electronic beats, as quiet piano is eventually joined by a synth melody. This impossibly simple line captivates with apparent ease. Quiet and dream-like, yet hypnotically powerful, the gem that lies in Fallen’s ten-and-a half minute title track is enough to make any human feel emotionally submerged.
The trance-like state that one is left in after this effortless beauty is one that is set up perfectly for the sonic flight of Fallen's final track, "Mira," fading out with yet more grace and ease from this outrageously talented group of musicians. All thoughts of how on earth these songs are constructed, how the band members managed to share such a vision and how band can improve on this feat are left for much, much later, as you are wholly enveloped by, and have indeed, Fallen.
And, having recovered enough to take stock, it can be said that Il Rumore del Fiore del Carta can improve. The effect an album by these musicians could have on a listener if they recorded an LP with a particular idea, a picture in mind that they could transmit with their sound, would be monumental. While this record is phenomenal, it is just music -- superb music, but music all the same, and it is perceivable that it could be more than that. Because with Fallen, it would appear that trumpets, synthesized beats and the occasional punch of distorted guitars have the potential to do great things if in the right hands.
Some of these hands belong to Il Rumore del Fiori di Carta.
Sumner McKane; Radiohead's Kid A & Hail to the Thief; Neutral Milk Hotel
myspace.com/irdfdc (http://www.myspace.com/irdfdc)