HACKEDEPICCIOTTO – “The Current” (2019)

Howlin’ Wuelf Media

Review by Warren Mayocchi

“Cinematic drone” is how hackedepicciotto describe their music, and it is a description which suits the sound well. On their new album, “The Current“, there is a combination of many sounds to create an enthralling musical platform. On this platform the vocals are primarily delivered in spoken word which occasionally tends to melodic. It is a mixture which I generally find too jarring. There have been a few bands along the way which have appealed to me in the way they have combined spoken vocals and eclectic music, “Yello” and “Shpongle” are a couple of examples. As a comparison they might be too obscure for a point of reference. Instead, consider the sounds you might encounter in a song, a tribal drumbeat, deep droning keyboards, Blade-Runner-esque melodies from orchestral keyboards, Morse code beeps, strings, and it goes on, but the mixture is broad, well delivered, and perfectly fantastic. It almost sounds like the soundtrack for an exotic forest excursion in search of the alien birds you hear calling out all around you.

When the vocals appear they are sometimes a chant, which do blend smoothly with the instrumentals, like those on “Onwards” and “The Seventh Day”. At other times they are more an adjunct story to the underlying musical. “Pretty Silver”, “Loreley”, and “The Black Pool”. They are always a shock to my ears when it is their turn to play, though the vocal presentation of a slightly distorted childlike story in “Pretty Silver” over an ominous musical background works quite well. As I listen to the penultimate track, and find myself caught up in the mystery and rhythm of “Upon Departure”, a contemplative mood suits the atmosphere. Then it closes and a small breath is taken to signal the beginning of the final track – “The Black Pool” – an accent begins talking, “50% of people got into the 21st century, and the other 50% got stuck.” Different voices continue the dialogue, “The UK is fucked. You know the world is ruled by board rooms who worship an invisible god of profit.” And so it goes on, there is a melodic refrain at times, but the song is primarily a combination of dialogue snippets over a low drone with an instrumental break toward the end.

For me, the disruption created by the dialogue vocals at the start of “Metal Hell”, occasionally in “Defiance”, and throughout “Loreley”, “Pretty Silver” and “The Black Pool” is too much. The songs are spaced through the album so it does not settle – after a few times through the album I was constantly aware of the forthcoming disruptions. As an complete experience “The Current” was undesirable, however, the quality of individual tracks is superb, even the simple removal of “Loreley” and “The Black Pool” from the playlist would significantly boost my rating of the album.

Rating – 77/100

Tracklist:

1. Defiance
2. Onwards
3. Metal Hell
4. The Current
5. Petty Silver
6. The Banishing
7. Third From The Sun
8. Loreley
9. The Seventh Day
10. Upon Departure
11. The Black Pool

Line Up:

• Sandra Oliveira – Vocals
• Ricardo Silveira – Drums
• Paulo Silva – Guitars
• Tiago Lascasas – Guitars
• Celso Oliveira – Bass

Links:

Hackedepicciotto Official Website
Soundcloud