The ACC

Sometimes a clash of styles creates a cacophony, a melange of noise that you can’t pick your way through to find the truth inside. But sometimes the disparate forms meld and merge to create a new truth and a new way of presenting it. It took a few listens to The A.C.C. (Abbiati Canterelli Conspiracy) to work out just which this was – there are elements of Americana, of Blues, of punk and of a something that approaches Iggy & The Stooges in ‘Fun House’ glory days and it took a while for my ears to find the different paths and neural interconnects that make it all work but, like the old 3D Posters, listening long enough exposed the layers and showed me exactly what the music is. And it really is something a bit special.

Stiv Canterelli has been around for a while and his screeching and skybound guitar lines are all over this album while Edward Abbiati’s harsh vocals have a Jagger-esque quality and deliver thumping lines straight to the heart. Joe Barreca on bass and Antonio Perugini (drums) propel the music forward with real assertiveness and aggression.

There are a few terrific tracks here, not least being ‘One Life Ain’t Enough’ which thuds and bangs its way through the ‘harmonies’ of Abbiati & Canterelli or the opener ‘Dog Beat The Devil’ – a howl against a chest beating blast of punk power or the slide and blast of ‘Saturday Night’, a staggering and swaggering sound of the best or worst Saturday night you ever had..

I love the looseness of the band, the way that the music feels as though it could degenerate into an unholy mess at any moment but also the way that it all holds together – just.