Fango, Icarus: Drowning in the Sun
Making their home at the foot of the Alps in Northern Italy, the four-piece Fango made their debut in 2010 with the full-length, Nel Buio. Signed in 2011 to the respectable purveyors of the heavy at Go Down Records, Fango released the 10” EP Icarus earlier this year. In defiance of their landscape, guitarists/vocalists Simo and Cina, bassist Berna and drummer Lorenzo play a straightforward, desert-hued rock that owes its tonality mostly to mid-period Kyuss or any number of European acts fallen under their influence, up to and including earliest Dozer, Truckfighters and Lowrider. Seems like esteemed stylistic company for Fango to keep, and they’re certainly not the only ones keeping it, but the four tracks on Icarus (two per side) hold fast to their methodology, never quite veering from desert rock into the purely stoner or otherwise drugged-out, but also never losing sight of the heaviness in their riffing. Not having heard Nel Buio (which featured a different rhythm section and so might not make the best sample anyway), I don’t know how much they change up their songwriting in a full-length scenario, but although Simo and Cina switch vocal prominence and the back half of Icarus has a few turns, there isn’t much different happening structurally between any of these songs. “Drown” and “Icarus” on the first side and “Frantumi” and “What I Think (Reprise)” on the second make use of strong verses and choruses with some marked interplay between the guitarists, clear, full production and a bit of synth on the closer.
The result isn’t necessarily original, but it is well-executed and should hopefully serve this lineup well going into their next LP, with Simo and Cina working together on vocals and guitar to lend the songs character. They do so almost immediately on Icarus opener “Drown,” which plays hooky lead lines off underlying rhythm riffs to earn the above Truckfigthers comparison. Lorenzo peppers the verses with tom fills for a mellow flow that’s offset by the more active chorus. Groove is paramount, and while the connection between Fango and the myth from which their EP has taken its name isn’t clear, the band don’t seem to be flying low enough to get where they’re going without too much wax-melting flash or showy ambition. They nestle themselves into desert rock on the first half of Icarus and fit well there, the title-track lacking nothing in accessibility or charm. The final minute of the song finds solo tradeoffs bringing back the chorus for one last go before the ending, and if nothing else, Fango prove capable songwriters as they punctuate “Icarus” with a last-second growl on the line “Riding through the sun.” The desert-cruising ethic is pervasive in the music but not wholly redundant in light of the side two shifts in atmosphere, and while one could probably get hung up on drawing lines between Fango and other bands, at four songs, 14 minutes, it seems excessive to do so.
A shift in tone goes far in making “Frantumi” sound darker, and the vocals follow suit, with a kind of Alice in Chains-style drawl. Parts of lines sound double-tracked and others don’t, and there’s a disorienting effect there, but Fango move back into more riff-heavy grooving in the song’s midsection, resulting in a short but effective build that carries through the bridge and into the faster-tempo resolution. A solo fades up from the ether and joins the march before cutting back out, and ultimately the apex is cut short in favor of brevity. Still, one senses that “Frantumi” is just a hint at the sonic diversity Fango might be able to bring into their sound if they keyed in on such an idea, and “What I Think (Reprise)” furthers that idea. The chorus is instrumental and marked with running lines of synth, and there’s a generally more chaotic feel to the feedback at the end of the track that neither of the first two cuts even approached. Although “Frantumi” and “What I Think (Reprise)” have the same runtime (3:43), the last minute of the latter is given to a soft, far-off and windswept revisiting of the opener’s chorus riff – hence the “(Reprise)” part of the title. It’s a decent way to cap the EP, but not really necessary, because although the song is working in a somewhat different style than the others, it’s not like Fango has taken any great leaps in aesthetic from the beginning of their journey to the end. Like the rest of Icarus, though, the reprise doesn’t offend; one just might be more likely to have Berna’s highlight bass performance on “What I Think” stuck in one’s head than be able to really bask in the memory of what happened about 12 minutes ago.
Whatever Fango’s Icarus may lack in originality, it makes up for in spirit. As this material was put to tape in 2009 (no word on whether that’s before or after what became Nel Buio), the Simo, Cina, Berna, Lorenzo lineup will have had even more time to develop chemistry between them by the time their next release is out, and I wouldn’t be surprised to find the band grown more individual in their approach on that occasion. These four songs, though, make for a solid sampler of their riffy style and the familiarity doesn’t at all breed contempt. It might take a few listens to dig into, but for the subtleties that open up eventually and for what they might mean to Fango’s future outings, Icarus makes for an engaging introduction.
Tags: Fango, Go Down Records, Italy
