MEZZ GACANO

— First review of this album —

For its 50th anniversary, Mezz Gacano brings together what Richard Sinclair likes to call "The Gacano Tribe", that is, an army of musicians who have taken turns with the Palermo multi-instrumentalist over the last twenty-five years. It is a "compilation" of some of the most significant moments of his over twenty-year career, which therefore includes chamber music, jazz, improvisation, rock, hard rock, progressive, etc ... Only Mezz Gacano can open an album with Moondog and close the same with Devo, passing through John Zorn, Robert Wyatt, Chic and Matching Mole. On the album there is also a part dedicated to Pietro Palazzo (1973-2020) called "Memories" in which Mezz (vocals and guitar) includes the three founding members of Homunculus Res (D'Alessandro and the Di Giovanni brothers) and Rodan Di Maria (sole survivor of the underground band Airfish). Among the classic "songs" extrapolated from the first three albums ("Palòra di boskàuz", "Avangandastrialopiteco", "Ozocovonobovo") emerge some original compositions played with the "youngest band" that already accompanied Richard Sinclair in his Palermo date in October 2022 from which "In The Land Of Pink and Black" was edited.

The album "OzocovonobovO MMXX" created by a multi-instrumentalist Davide MEZZATESTA aka MEZZ GACANO has various sound appearances and unexpecting developments all around. I'm very happy to get Davide's email directly (thanks Davide) and to meet such wonderful musical diversity via his latest creation. At first a mysterious and weird sound world should be spread into our brain and it's quite tough for us to digest promptly (trust me) but this opus is kinda narcotic agent ... to listen carefully is just to get immersed in it without choice. Also attractive that lots of session musicians play as collaborators, and all of them have the same goal to melodic confusion (lol).

Stumbling wind instrument plays ("Ozomeztro"), massively heavy guitar power phases ("Huiut"), jazzy funky rhythmical melody temptation ("Ojelo Vojoje", one of my favourite songs) ... colourful sound approaches can be heard here and there. "Unghstum" is clearly a favourable hard rock tinged with avantgarde seasoning. "Carmelo In My Room", a safe and sound ambience plus sudden melodic dissection in the latter part, reminds us of the similar vein to a French Giant L'infonie.

"Pomoflower MMXX", another masterpiece in this creation, is exactly a mixture of his musical essence. Complicated movements, brilliant sound ornamentations, quiet lesions, distorting synthesizer parasites, electronic eccentricities, and so on, all are squeezed into this track. "The Sunny Son Of Blütenstaub" in the same vein of Red Noise or Patrick Vian has critical sarcastic vibes and contro-inspirational hints filled with improvisational saxophone tips and sort of delightful acoustic guitar lullaby. The last "Sunny Son of Blütenstaub meez Ubao e i Bioboi" gets more and more cynical and dissonant, and flooded with multiple instrumental violence obviously to give the audience excessive comfort.

Let me say I'm wondering why Davide can launch such a colourful sound production. ;)