Italian composer and musician Roberto FRATTINI is a fairly unknown quantity for me, and an artist I can’t easily find any information about on the net. He released what is presumably his debut album, “La Memoria Delle Maschere”, in the fall of 2014 through Italian label Psych Up Melodies.
As with the greater majority of the 10 albums released so far on this fledgling label, Frattini’s album is one that is firmly placed inside a psychedelic tradition. In this case a somewhat less challenging one than what is explored by many of the other artists attached to this fledgling label, but safely within a psychedelic and progressive context still.
The key features for the greater majority of the compositions is a steady foundation built upon bass and drums as careful providers of rhythm and momentum, with the bass occasionally given a more prominent placement in the mix. A base motif is provided by an ongoing acoustic guitar motif, with an electric guitar slithering on top to provide distinctly psychedelic licks, riffs and solo runs and overlays in a careful and mostly unobtrusive manner. Calm lead vocals is a present in most of the compositions. Careful keyboard textures are sometimes applied as well, and as with the other instruments performed within a context that has something of a late 1960’s or early 1970’s attitude and approach. Pleasant and enjoyable material, with highlights being the gentler, folk-tinged Doppelganger and the harder edged, acid rock oriented La Forma Migliore.
The concluding three tracks on the album takes a left turn and ventures into slightly different territories however. Broke Down Engine is a sparse, minimalist take on the blues, liberally flavored with gentle psychedelic tendencies, Card Shuffling an elongated instrumental affair that opens as something of an acid folk based excursion, visiting vintage progressive rock tendencies along it’s way, and then concludes on an acid rock note. Final piece Explicit a gentler, dreamladen affair with tendencies towards jazz and folk explored within a melancholic, almost mournful twilight mood context.
An interesting production on many levels, and while not a production with qualities that will give it a widespread appeal nor with enough material of a quality that will make this production a high impact one, those with a taste for the relatively gentler parts of the psychedelic rock landscapes should find this one to be an album worth investigating. Then especially those with an affection for late 1960’s and early 70’s ventures of this nature, and in particular those who find Italian language vocals to be appealing within such a context.
My rating: 68/100
