Gecko's Tear from Italy

GECKO'S TEAR — Contradiction

The Italian ensemble of Gecko’s Tear leisurely deserve the applause of making prog novelty in their own strong and clear way, having an echo which doesn’t necessary surprise a great deal of a world equity, but which has the full merit of whatsoever outstands. In the duplex of modern music rise influence and quality impulse (including sparks), I think they sacrifice neither over the other way, making the touch of an exciting trend, which is the most adorned (around this period) heavy dredge art rock. Significant. The band had a sincere stars on an unclear field of directions; expect that of a progressive fireburn passion. Soon enough they’ve reached their talent’s (or just imagination, if we ain’t really in big fuss of high words) challenging appetite, and the next step was reaching their hysteria of a recognition, succeeded when “Ecco: Stvrlz” came as a self-produced music with a fine response (and, equally, a fine way of being really, really obscure in sight). Between this part definitive and the studio consecrated moment, the Italian genome strengthened even better its beck and watt; mostly in good to aforementioned appearances or collaborations – style insider. Either more metallic directions (! Signals), in contacts such as with Isildur’s Bane or Wilson’s prime schedule, or right-up festivals of prog, by the punctual variety and the big names we can most know for sure. Certainly Gecko’s Tear does nicely in this momentary contemporaneity. But since this was more of a bio treat (the biography up here in this Archives happens also to have been written down, simplistically, by yours truly), let’s see where the music lands and how much deal the amazement of it can be.

Music comes stylish and loaded within a draft of amateurish forms of play & persuasion; I’m saying this having in mind how surprising some moments can be, also how very “raconteur” the whole exceeding taste fades its craft for magnitude, for aplomb. For the many listens I had months ago (since I borrowed, not bought, the experience), the music is still deep fit, which is applaudable in its way, for an album far from patetism, yet tough and eclectic. The Contradiction project shades light on Gecko’s Tear’s purest of improvisation yet, with a progress that, naturally, is expected to continue and to “contradict” its previous exhilaration into a marginal point. Style is, how I myself like it called, in a “heavy discipline”, with big allure of heavy dittoed rock and drift punch dark atmosphere, with a modern taste that can fit nothing but a young spirit and a vibrant heart (thus it characterizes everything from the nervous shines of gifted riff to daunt strain decibels); art rock gets a full grant when the euphoria of cold sweepstakes kicks in…relentlessly. Up to probably the braves sound happening, the gem mark is of a good quality RIO “disorientate” explosion, around the finest edges of what seems free jam or loudest of punches; the motive is casually a Zappa influence, up to what the novices say, but in their act, the way it’s done is flawlessly exciting.

The album, roughly, states passion for the alembicated forces of band play and style meandering; meaning it has the common analogy of a dark-minded and slow-fainting crossover between lush taste and momentum’s aesthetic. Symbols are harder to get, whilst the clearest is the fine context of stormy colors. The Contradiction suspense is great to observe when it fuzzes into an obscure way of rapid art, when the debordance of such a cue-orientation is made in time’s constant beat, when you feel en-raveled without being an easy catch of a tune strum that gets you, finally when some ways of clear vision and some “formal” music sticks to charm and great sounding, to reveal the other nature of a spiced energy. In rest, the band strictly stays in the style, in the posture of decent gigantisms and in the state of shapeless imagination. Active to exuberant, the compensation is the drop of depicting soundscapes and uncontrollable rock opposing exceptions and exertions. It’s a world of an hour’s turbulence and a vivid drop-out in sound and jam’s popular refinement. It is a well produced, well interpreted thought.

Good album, good band. Try out a fierce temptation, way ahead of many undergoes.

Posted Thursday, April 19, 2007, 03:51 EST | Permanent link

GECKO'S TEAR — Contradiction

Gecko’s Tear were already marked as outstanding after they won the Italian contest organized by “Movimenti Prog”, dedicated to Demetrio Stratos, the former singer of Area; and for their support act of the Swedish band Isildurs Bane and Arti e Mestieri. Gecko’s Tear's music is definitely far from average schemes and our time's standards... while listening to it, mind goes to "vintage" heores such as Yes, King Crimson, Rush, Genesis, ELP & Zappa but, and this is not blasphemous, the Geckos can incline towards a more modern prog, flirting with jazz-rock and "keeping a foot" into rock in opposition, influences that are anyway present in their compositions, so rich in unusual diversions and embellishments of various kinds. The vocals of our Claudio Mirone, carismatic leader of the band and its main compositive source, melts away nicely in the instrumental dimension; the lirycs are English but, as curious and witty as it may seem, when they play Italy, in order to communicate more easily the songs' contents, Geckos use to sing in Italian! Gecko’s Tear's first album is a real, fascinating universe of influences and quotes, in which prog metal is surely a component, but not the most evindent not the most charming. There is often occasion for dilated moments that taste like space rock, besides the patent reminescenses of classic prog as in “On the wings”, eveni RIO quotes in “SPQA”, plus pleasant fusion digressions, as in “Mental hygiene”, reminding of Frank Zappa. A suprising record, patently progressive, in the most vast meaning of the word.

Posted Thursday, March 08, 2007, 08:10 EST | Permanent link