It’s a common theme in debates about the state of the music industry that bands are increasingly avoiding signing straight away to major label contracts and opting, instead to sign to smaller independents. It’s not strictly true, but neither is it a complete lie. It makes sense though, the band we’re listening to today, Castrovalva, are too left field to fit onto a major (unless or until they build up a big fan base), but on Brew Records they will be given the chance to grow. So, what do we have here? This is a record as brutal and fast paced as Manny Pacquiao’s win over Ricky Hatton (and just as likely to end in a knockout). At first listen this is just noise, thrown together in the hope of making something stick, but if you give it time, the tunes rise to the surface. Make no mistake though, these guys like their sound to be brutal – after all forming from just a synth, bass and a drum kit this is hardly going to sound like Snow Patrol. The pace doesn’t relent until we get to the fifth track here, the haunting ‘London Kills Me’ with it’s bubbling synth (think the underscore for The Specials’ Ghost Town) providing a haunting, slightly murderous feel that is scary in it’s subtlety. ‘Bellahusen’ is, for me, the standout track though. It does everything the rest of the album does, but the addition of vocals takes it to a whole new level. Castrovalva are certainly an acquired taste, but like good wine or strong coffee, once you’ve started to enjoy it you’ll be hungry for more, so go and grab a copy, you’ll be supporting independent music too!
check out Castrovalva at www.myspace.com/castrovalvamusic
