Bellini – The Precious Prize of Gravity

Four long years separate The Precious Prize of Gravity, Italian-American band Bellini’s latest effort, and its previous, Small Stones. There are plenty of similarities to be found – both records were recorded by sound guru Steve Albini, both find release on Temporary Residence – but it’s undeniable that Gravity is the hardest-hitting and most complex release in their somewhat limited oeuvre.

Why’s that? Look first to the instruments: serpentine riffs and disorienting rhythms communicate in spikes and jitters in what can be best described as the Jesus Lizard boiling in a pot of Don Caballero, or some captivating cultivar of pigfuck progressive. Bellini haphazardly grafts (cow)punk/no wave onto the face of math rock and do so in as natural a sound as possible. Invigorating music, here. But that’s not the best part.

This type of rock has always thrived off of instrumental acumen rather than anything meaningful to communicate in actual language (Don Cab’s purposefully absurd song titles perhaps best exemplifying this trait), so vocals – typically, malevolent yelps, grotesque non-sequiturs, etc – come across more as props or novelties than anything substantive. Bellini subvert this trend with sheer, um, gravity: having experienced the losses of several loved ones, multiple songs on The Precious Prize of Gravity explicate casualty, fear, regret, melancholy. One such is “The Thin Line,” a somber composition featuring members of Silkworm, themselves no strangers to death having tragically lost drummer Michael Dahlquist to a car accident in ‘05. Giovanna Cacciola’s voice sounds like a mix of Björk, PJ Harvey, and Lydia Lunch, her style somewhere between sprechgesang and shouting. Powerful and steadfast, it’s difficult not to grasp for each individual word as she pushes them from her mouth.

Gravity’s only real stumble would be song construction. Complex riff/rhythm combination simply gives way to another set of bewildering phrase, with not much room for progression or movement. Given how exemplary the musicianship is, though, this little faltering point can be overlooked. So, go out and grab this one – there’s no telling how long it’ll take them to create its successor.