BELLINI – the precious size of gravity – CD

Recorded as always with long-time collaborator Steve Albini, The Precious Prize of Gravity is Bellini’s most accomplished production yet. Guitarist Agostino Tilotta wraps a hundred notes per minute around the towering, sturdy rhythm section of Matthew Taylor and Alexis Fleisig (Girls Against Boys), while Giovanna Cacciola’s poetic lyrics and smoky melodies alternately recall Grace Slick and PJ Harvey. With no less than four songs centering around the deaths of loved ones (including the heart-wrenching « The Thin Line, » featuring Andy Cohen and Tim Midgett of Silkworm/Bottomless Pit), Precious Prize is lyrically Bellini’s darkest album yet. Never wanting to repeat themselves, the songs are more complex and progressive than the comparatively stark Small Stones, with a driving, X-inspired cowpunk vibe throughout.