From the Vaults: Sorella Maldestra
While visiting my hometown of Chicago, my girl Nicole slapped the SORELLA MALDESTRA LP on and it occurred to me that I hadn’t pulled this out of the MRR collection yet. SORELLA MALDESTRA (translated Clumsy Sister) is part of the zeitgeist of Italian punk bands from the mid- to late-’70s era. Their demo tape, Cadavere, was put out by Harpo’s Bazaar, then Italian Records, Bologna in 1979. In 1997, Flowers of Grain released the tape onto vinyl, which, for us scumbag record collectors, can thankfully still be found. The vocals are raw, just the way I like it, and the music is punk and fuzzed out. The album has some weird audio effects, using synths and crowd cheers in the mix, adding a little new wave flavor. The result is some killer tracks, like their “hit” “Cadavere.” This band captures the creativity that existed in the proto-punk days, drawing influence from Zappa and Stooges rock that was prevalent at the time, while delivering a premonition of the awesome punk-as-fuck Italian sound that was to come. They have recently reformed and have twelve new songs out on a CD called Bad Weather that can be found at www.banksvillerecords.com. I haven’t heard it yet, but what ever your opinion of old bands reforming, their first album is worth checking out.
