Search - Neon :: Rituals - Expanded Edition

neon is undoubtedly one of the most influential and enduring bands of the Italian New Wave, and Florence (their hometown) and Bologna were the nerve centres of the 1980s Italian underground. From the beginning, the band's music was perfectly aligned with continental trends-integrating the attitude of early post-punk with certain types of electronic music that had timidly begun popping up on the club circuit, and an aesthetic that was a cross between late romanticism and decadentism. Inimitable bands like Neon breathed new life into even the most disagreeable and angular rock `n' roll, flirting with war-like dance music, and creating musical scenarios that were unheard of up until that point, placing them in harmony with some of the most talked-about British and German bands of the time. Marcello Michelotti was this Tuscan band's undisputed leader, and after a string of 12"s (five altogether) and a 7", the band finally released their first LP, "Rituals" (originally released in 1985 for the KinderGarten label and distributed by the major label, Polygram). This crucial album, which unquestionably represented the band's creative peak, has now been re-released by Spittle not merely for the sake of the album itself, but also as part of a wider campaign to document the Italian New Wave scene, which in those years was also making some compromising choices, such as the use of Italian lyrics and a general softening of the music in favour of a sound that was often much more pop. The eight tracks that make up this digitally remastered reissue-with three extra versions of "Dark Age", "Last Chance", and "My Blues Is You"-represent one of the most original possible journeys into the Italian underground. Obsessively rhythmic, like a pagan ritual, with the vagueness and asperity of primordial rock and roll and an inkling of late seventies / early eighties electronica; a cultured dance, officiously contaminated by the sound of guitars that lead us on our journey--if for no other reason than the act of faith performed for guru Jimi Hendrix in their cover of "Burning Of The Midnight Lamp". This `return to the scene of the crime' is essential in the rediscovery of one of the most sober and adventurous breeds of Italian rock.