[reviewed by: stark]
On the 18th of May 2022, the Polish label Devoted Art Propaganda releases the vinyl version of AIT! classic album “Romanticismo Oltranzista”. It comes with a new artwork by Nový Svět. and is housed in a noble gatefold with and an insert. Records come in two different colors – black (100 copies) and white (150 copies). I have already reviewed the CD edition of the album in 2007, for the now defunct Apostazja Magazine and here’s the – slightly edited – English translation of that review. 14 years have passed, but my feelings haven’t changed.
As probably some of you know, Italian AIT! is the main project of Tairy, the owner of Punch Records, previously also a member of the industrial TODAY I’M DEAD. Punch Records is (or rather was) one of the most original labels in this vale of tears, and AIT! fits perfectly into its character. If I had to use one word to describe this AIT! album titled “Romanticismo Oltranzista”, it would be “bizarre”. Not necessarily because of some bizarrely twisted arrangements, improvised, narcotic rides or unlistenable experiments. None of these things. AIT! makes songs – although not taken straight from pop / rock charts, with the verse-chorus-verse-chorus pattern. It would be too easy. But despite the “song-like” nature of the album, the mood is by no means idyllic. “Romanticismo Oltranzista” is lined with a kind of underlying anxiety throughout its duration. Something like the mood of “Twin Peaks” or the opening scenes of “Blue Velvet”. Some themes remind me of old horror soundtracks (“Una Fantasia Strumentale”). And if I stick to the film comparisons (which by the way I should probably unlearn, after all, it’s a music magazine), “Romanticismo Oltranzista” is pretty close to HBO series called “Carnivale” – it’s a similar weird, circus-like-disturbing atmosphere. A music room of curiosities. And one more thing, personally pretty important to me, “Romanticismo Oltranzista” doesn’t reveal all its secrets right away. Each subsequent listening is a new, inspiring experience. Sadness, joy, fear, euphoria… many different emotions may accompany you while listening to this album. Recommended.
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AIT! – Romanticismo Oltranzista
Devoted Art Propaganda, NMS 035
LP 2022
Santa Sangre 