INFINITE TONE - review added 13th August 2009
Album Review: Impossi-bull (2009)
For fans of: Blues Rock... and strange conversations about cats
Canadian group Infinite Tone is based around the talents of vocalist Inno Fabbro and guitarist Bruno Di Medio. Joining them on the amusingly titled Impossi-bull are Gilbert Fradette on drums, Domenic Romanelli on bass, Peter Ranallo on keys, Marc Angers on violin and Julien Bouchard / Danny Ranallo on additional guitars.
The album, recorded at Woodshed Studios in Montreal was produced by Peter Ranallo. The sound is predominantly bluesy rock with an overriding born-in-a-pub feel. Apart from the odd exception it's down-to-earth, rustic and friendly music with the emphasis on simple accessibility. This is not an album filled to the brim with mind-numbing progressive expressionism and instrumental excess.
Impossi-bull is a lump of steak in a world of Fillet Minions and Veal Piccatas.
The title track kicks things off. The Hammond organ in the background underlays a simple song with a solid rock'n'roll charm. The track does nothing to get the pulse racing, yet it's hard not to like it. 'My Friend Matt' is a slower track which manages to be bright and doomy at the same time. It sounds like it could be heavy live but, on record, it's a tad anonymous. 'Burn' is a livelier, raspy track designed to get a crowd going. Again the Hammond is there, this time it takes over the entire record. The clean piano playing is a cut above in terms of quality so it's a shame they didn't use it more.
First real stand out song is the acoustic-guitar-intro'd 'Picture Of You'. It's a ballad and, whilst you couldn't call it beautiful, there's a soulful fire to the arrangement. Inno Fabbro has an unusual voice that doesn't always get the best from songs but, on this track, the combination of his impassioned singing and stripped back instrumentation is stunning.
'Con-form-itty' is a fun track with very silly lyrics. 'Edge Of Time' is about as close as the guys get to a straight ahead hard rock song. It isn't massively memorable but, again, it's easy to imagine it being a blast live. The Guns N' Roses-esque start to 'In My Eyes' soon morphs into a downtrodden love song. It's an interesting track that draws you in even though it seemingly has little to offer.
'Hypnotized in Heels' has a very odd start. It sounds like the guys are trying to impersonate David Lee Roth telling a weird story. I must say it's lost on me. The song itself, with it's Whitesnake-rude lyrics, is better... but still not exactly brilliant. 'East Van' and final track 'Requiem Canis (Man's Best Friend)' are both from the okay-but-nothing-more camp.
Impossi-bull isn't by any means a bad album, but it does little to lift it's head above anything else out there. If you like bluesy bar music you'll get something out of this, if you like ballads you need to check out the excellent 'Picture Of You', but apart from that you've heard all of this a hundred times before.
Check out... 'Picture Of You'.
Track List:
1. Impossi-bull
2. My Friend Matt
3. Burn!
4. Picture of You
5. Con-form-itty
6. Edge of Time
7. In My Eyes
8. Hypnotized in Heels
9. East Van
10. Requiem Canis (Man's Best Friend)
Artist's website(s): Infinite Tone , MySpace
