MEXICO

Sparkle in Grey is a free-flowing post-rockin' collective formed in Milan. It consists of Matteo Uggeri (on electronics), Franz Krostopovic (Violin), Alberto Carozzi (guitars), Cristiano Lupo (many instruments) and a handful of guests. Each musician is also involved in many side projects and collaborations. Matteo Uggeri is also the founder of the independent label Grey Sparkle. This musical family tribe published a first album in 2008 entitled "A Quiet Place". It can be seen as an intimate combination between aleatoric sound experiments, dreamy acoustic tones and impressionist-like rockin sequences. Mexico (2011) does not appear to be fundamentally different from this first but includes more dense proggy variations into the mix. Maybe a less difficult listening for neophyts in underground subgenres as well. Musically speaking Mexico provides a bath of Cheerful dreaminess, deliciously evocative and constantly moving. The instrumental section is perfectly achieved and serve a gorgeous musical trip, providing an exquisite sense of drama punctuated by lyrical / humorous accents. This release delivers a very personal musical signature. However to situate briefly Sparkle in Grey's sound aesthetism I would like to say that they are somewhere between the introspect and highly textured ambient pieces of Hans Joachim Rodelius, the wondrous static minimalism of Tony Conrad, the smoothly languorous improvs of King Crimson and the sinister soundtracky ambiences of the Brothers Quay's animation films.

With an equal pleasure we pass from the delicate and cinematic Boys vomit , to the hyper catchy hypno-ish pop "That One", to the delirious avatn-gardist "From the air", to the funereal grooves of "Sunrising" to the gently metaphysical ambiences of Mexico to finally be absorbed by the sweet melancholia of Phennel Song. Each track is a sensitive / blissed-out micro musical scene in itself.

A breathtaking effort, a marvelous and engaged musical voyage out of time