Indie rock
Italy’s premiere indie rock band Forty Winks is back with their third record, “Bow Wow”. Since 2001, these guys have been touring relentlessly and honing their sound – rooted in the Italian rock scene but incorporating a multitude of other diverse influences. In their words, “Bow Wow” fuses together Elvis Costello like rock, Helmet’s heavier edge, and Bowie’s primordial irony”. Lead singer Sandro Amabili continues, “We’ve stopped worrying about fitting into a specific genre or sounding a certain way. 'Bow Wow' is an album you can blast really loud at a party or within your earphones, adsorbing a bit of the deeper underlining hidden sounds throughout the album.”
If you are looking for tight hooks and meticulously crafted melodies and harmonies, you should look elsewhere. Forty Winks is a band full of surprises – not knowing quite what comes next or where the music is going to turn is part of the fun. Sometimes the direction they choose works better than others, but you are surprised nevertheless. There is a bright, party vibe consistent throughout most of the record. It’s going to be too esoteric and “indie” for many readers, but I got a kick out of standout tracks like the swirling Pixies-esque rocker “Beneath Her Feet”, the rousing “Meet You At The Bar”, and the brilliant surf rocker “I Feel Dead”. The stronger pop leanings in “Mannequins” and “One Last Round” make them my favorites, though.
Check out Forty Winks if you enjoy The Hives, Presidents of The United States of America, and Queens of the Stone Age. The record was available as of August 23 on End Sounds.
iPOD-worthy: 1, 2, 3, 5, 6
Forty Winks – Official site.
