Review: Menimals - Menimals

Riot Season have, in recent years, been the UK's equivalent to Amphetamine Reptile; their releases have been noisy, heavy and top-shelve quality wise. This release, the debut from enigmatic Italians Menimals, sees them taking the step imto more esoteric, avantegarde territory. Menimals, made up of The Rat (drums), The Chimera (bass/guitar), The Gryphon (guitar/production) and Doctor Forge (vocals), " are the sonic representation of the cosmic beauty and symmetry embodied in the Platonic solids, the classical elements of alchemy, and the symbolic animal spirits whose masks they wear". Alchemy would be an apposite description of the album, the melding of experimental, ambient and psychedelia...it is the latest in a succession of thought provoking, enthralling albums from Italy, following on from Heroin In Tahiti, Squadra Omega and other luminaries of the Italian Occult Psychedelia scene.

Album opener 'In This Unforgiving Heat' immediately transports the listener to arid, sun-baked climes with an evocative, exotic melody that sounds like it came from a middle eastern souk via the Andes. Underpinning it is an hypnotic bass line, sounding very 1950's noir. The vocals, when they appear, are hushed and sultry. Certainly one of the most atmospheric tracks I've heard in a while. 'Dodecahedron, The Window Sphere' has another insistent bassline, but the onus of this track moves from the exotic to the dark; from the hushed female voice countdown at the beginning to the hushed male vocals the track drags the listener into a dark place, mesmerising them and holding their attention captive. It has the feel of some of JG Thirlwell's 'Foetus' material; that same mixing of the everyday with the seedier side of life. 'Tetrahedron' starts in a very Floydian way - soft, lilting guitars and gently throbbing bass with the addition of some male and female vocals. The tempo gradually increases along with the intensity and by the end the track has evolved into a glorious cacophony of psych guitar, crashing percussion and impassioned vocals. 'Transition From A Cube To The Octahedron' is another track rich in atmosphere and texture. The whispered vocals both reassuringly comforting and and yet dripping with dread and foreboding. The guitars provide a backdrop of rich tone and depth and some fuzzy drones add to the vibe. It is deeply sinister number, full of mystery and allegory....great stuff. The album is closed with enigmatically titled 'Bird On The Wing As A Hinge' - a drone filled, darkly ambient track. More hushed vocals and lush swathes of synths give this a spacier feel than preceding tracks..but the dread and the ethereal spookiness remain. It has the feel of 10CC's 'I'm Not In Love', if 10CC had become satan worshippers instead of dew-eyed popsters.

I've waxed lyrical in these pages before about current Italian music, and this only adds to that. An album that is oozing with atmosphere and ideas. It is dark and sinister and yet with an assured lightness of touch, experimental enough to be challenging, but not so far as to be up itself. A fine addition to the canon of work coming from Italy, and kudos to Riot Season for giving it a physical release. The release date is 9th April but pre-orders are up now via the Riot Season Webstore and the download will be available in April via the labels Bandcamp site.