Released first by the band in a limited CD pressing of 99 copies and subsequently picked up by prestigious Europsych purveyors Nasoni Records for wider issue on CD and vinyl, the Docile EP by North Italian trio Ivy Garden of the Desert relies just as much on drifting sonic spaciousness as it does on riffy crunch. The four-song release (at 38 minutes, it could either be an EP or full-length, so take your pick – I call it EP because they do) doesn’t break any real stylistic ground, but it does show an ambient patience and reverence for American-style desert stillness that a lot of the European contingent misses out on in either their riff-led or psychedelic swirling. The vocals of guitarist Diego will sound curious to American ears, perhaps owing to a combination of the six-stringer’s accented English and a bottom-of-the-mouth delivery that comes off at times sounding like something more out of commercial rock. Vocals are relatively sparse, however, and though 10-minute closer “I” begins with a throaty growl that swells in the speakers, there’s next to nothing abrasive about Docile and Ivy Garden of the Desert are far more concerned with melodic sprawl, which suits them well.

The band formed in 2008 and Docile sounds like a product of discovery on their part, but listening to Paolo’s echoing bass that begins opener “Ivy,” soon accompanied by Diego’s wavy guitar lines and the subtle tom work of Andrea, it’s easy to imagine the players seated in a jam room figuring out their parts on the fly. They soon settle into the groove that will carry them through the intro of “Ivy”’s nine minutes, gradually developing the track for the first three and a half minutes before everything drops out and Diego introduces a fuzzy, Fu Manchu-style riff that carries through the rest of the song. The guitar is in the lead role, not surprisingly, but Diego offers some clever layering and drawn-out solos that effectively give a sense of improvisation. Paolo peaks early in that the final minutes of “Ivy” feature Docile’s best bass lines, but still has plenty to contribute as the EP wears on, including the large role he plays in setting the darker tone of “Enchanting Odyssey,” following Andrea’s stick-clicks and foundational bass drum while Diego echoes a lead across the wide aural berth. The second cut of the four is also the longest at 11:14, and the first with vocals (they come on about two minutes in and appropriate room is made for them, but one never gets the sense in listening to Docile that they’re the priority), Diego’s voice sounding more derived from the influences noted above than on the later, more progressive “I.”

Following a couple verses, “Enchanting Odyssey” takes off instrumentally on what I can only assume was the band’s source for the title. Diego proves to be a player of character and melodic prowess in his lead work, and by underscoring the solo with acoustic guitar playing the same lines, Ivy Garden of the Desert plants a subconscious seed that soon germinates with the acoustic-led “Hang Glider.” They once again save their most riff-based movement for last in “Enchanting Odyssey” (as good a way for a journey to end as any), but one doesn’t feel impatient for the song to arrive at where it’s headed because the trip there is so engaging. That carries over into “Hang Glider,” which introduces Paola Padovan’s cello and the aforementioned acoustics. The cello fades from prominence in the mix, giving way to the guitar-strummed, contemplative verses and hand percussion, but returns to end the song, giving a structured feel much of Docile has thus far eschewed. Without the effects behind his tone, Diego proves no less fleet of finger on the guitar, and though it’s the shortest of the four cuts, at 7:04, “Hang Glider” has plenty opportunity to set an atmosphere that the closer contradicts almost immediately.

Diego’s prior-noted growl is met with low rumble from Paolo. That in turn is complemented by buried-in-the-mix freakout guitar noise, but the crux of “I” is the fuzz-based riffing that starts at 1:17, which takes the stonerly payoff of the first two tracks and thrusts it to the fore – all the better to cap the EP. The vocals are run though a kind of distorted/semi-megaphone effect that cuts away the more commercial American feel and though Diego is still high in the mix (whereas everything prior has been in pretty solid balance), I’m left thinking more of lush prog than clumsy riff rock. The fills from Paolo throughout give his performance on “Ivy” a challenge as the best on Docile, and as the song progresses to its final ring-out, even the more-composed vibe of “I” is subsumed into Ivy Garden of the Desert’s pastoral feel. That’s what works best for the EP, and as it’s an idea expressed so completely, I’d be inclined to classify Docile as a full-length, despite the band’s reported plan being to follow it with two more like-minded EPs. Ultimately it matters little one way or the other, and when the trio set their riffy abandon against the spacious jams, there are certainly better things to think about – the music and the sun-drenched sands coming most immediately to mind.

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Nasoni Records

Tags: Italy, Ivy Garden of the Desert, Montebelluna, Nasoni

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 8th, 2011 at 12:45 pm and is filed under Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.