Alessandro Cortini - Volume Massimo

From the first moments of Alessandro Cortini’s VOLUME MASSIMO, one can sense the newfound dynamism and hear the unsung lyrics. Each track has some malfunctioning element, a cause to check the speakers/headphones to make sure everything is intact. His most compelling composition to date, this sense of forward momentum and evolution of sound is instantly engaging and terribly exciting.

Throughout his solo work, Cortini has always managed to have his own sound and sonic identity, but finally, it seems as if all his years spent in close proximity collaborating and performing with Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross have begun to rub off on him. There are moments on MASSIMO where it almost sounds like the Oscar-winning duo lent some production; in “BATTICUORE” for instance, where a massive, oceanic guitar rises up to swallow everything, and in some of the melodic structure and instrumentation of “AMARO AMORE”. “LET GO” is like something from a cyborg heist romp* while "MOMENTI" has an unmistakable air of triumph, with its bright notes and sun-warmed melody, but the ending, with the reverb and patches and pedals laid aside, undoes all the work, leaving one feeling vulnerable, targeted. "LA STORIA" is actually a touch disorienting, constantly unsettled on its bed of shaped static. Something feels uneven here and it works. After the mood established up to the penultimate track, the percussion on “SABBIA" comes as a surprise. This is a robot trying to sing a love song…which is unspeakably eerie. “DORMI" is an uncomfortable and unnerving ending, the sound of degradation and dissolution.

Although the concept was intriguing and well-executed, at times the home movie snippets on Cortini's 2017 LP Avanti, a release populated by ghosts from his past, could detract from the sound, and anyone not familiar with the story behind the album might be more than a little confused, so MASSIMO is a sensational return to the pure instrumental place where he shines brightest. VOLUME MASSIMO is yet another intricately-crafted, liquid world Alessandro Cortini has made for us to float around, swim through, and drown in. One can’t get bored with his work any more than an explorer could get bored traversing and discovering a new land.

* A romp about cyborgs orchestrating a heist, not a heist where cyborgs are…heisted.