Tags:experimental, folk, mediterranean, Italy

No information. No link. Nothing. Also, no explanation. All is revealed by itself. Magically of course. At least this is the impression one gets should the starting point be the Bandcamp page. A name. A logo. A country. Though no description.

A quick search in the Internet reveals that this band has indeed some entries on other sites and the one in Instagram provides us with some additional information:

Quando siamo stati costretti a star fermi, la mente ha cominciato a viaggiare... Così nasce "LaMandolanza".

Which, according to an online translator, means in English:

When we were forced to stay still, the mind began to travel ... Thus was born "LaMandolanza".

It is music created under the effects of the Covid-pandemic? Guesswork. Of course, it would have been possible to contact the band beforehand and inquire about these issues, but as the intention behind this magazine is to present the music without any forewarning left alone communication with any band or label, such a thing is out of the question. And it does not make the life of the writer easier.

And what about the music?

Good question. A really good one. But it is also a difficult one to answer. This has to do with the performance of the band and the style they are playing. Sadly enough, and this is might be due to personal preferences, the album is off to a bad start. This instruments and their tormented sound are anything that I can bear. Feels odd. Puts me off. From there on it progresses rather nicely. The accordion is accompanied by guitars and later also a voice joins in. The triller played by the strings wakes memories of Greek or Italian music; stuff from the Mediterranean. Amnios, the opener of the release, has an interesting atmosphere and flow, which has a lot to do with how the elements fit together. In some respect it is odd and fascinating at the same time; at least for someone from not too close to Italy. Sadly, the track has a reprisal of the same unnerving sounds from its initial minute or so.

Does the music progress this way and is more of the same kind to be expected in the remaining two tracks? Of course not. "Walzer Sbilenco" is an instrumental with a complex melody and progressive arrangements. While it may be folk of sorts, it is not as straightforward as one might expect. The last track "Musica Muta" heads off into another direction. With a surprisingly catchy melody, occasionally hushed vocals and a lot of energy, this tracks ends this release in an unexpected kind of way. There is playfulness, there is the sound and atmosphere of the vocals and a certain easiness which all together makes one wonder why the band only uses this kind of music for a single track and not on a larger degree.

Maybe this has to do with the overall intention behind this release. As laid out in the translation, it appears that it had been created while the pandemic was still ravaging and while the governments responded to it. Due to this, the sound and the three tracks breathe the air of being more of a compilation of ideas than something else. Presumably also the slight rawness of the sound can be attributed to the circumstances of the time.

Tri-golum is a mixed back. That is all there is to say.

Bandcamp site