Viridanse: Mediterranea (Contempo, 1985)

I don't know much about the new wave band Viridanse. They were from Alessandria, Piedmont, and "Mediterranea" is their second release, just after the EP "Benvenuto Cellini".
Their guitar-based darkwave style owes much to Joy Division, though it turns down the band's trademark funeral feeling into a more voluptuous sound delving on Meditterranean influences and melodic arabesques. The singer's emphatic vocals, very typical of Italian darkwave, and the wannabe cerebral lyrics may sound quite disturbing, but the mood of the album is original and peculiar, slightly resembling to a Mediterranean version of Japan's "Tin Drum". Apart from the forced comparisons, Viridanse's convoluted basslines were much probably influenced by Mick Karn's legendary style. Most tracks are dominated by the fine and sharp-sounding intrications of the two guitars and all of them are pervaded by a hedonistic, decadent mood which is, as a matter of fact, the album's most accomplished element.


Tracklist:

1. Frontiere
2. Notte chiara
3. Sheherazade
4. Corinna
5. Dolce vita
6. Mediterranea
7. Sulla strada
8. Desiderio di me
9. Terra di sempre
10. Déjà vu

Download (~170 kbps)