Action Breed. The Early Stuff Remastered – Loose (self released)
“The best band you’ve never heard of” is an over-used term that needs to be stopped. But not before it’s been applied to Loose. If you’re here for the typical I-94 Bar fare, this long-defunct Italian band will sate your appetite. I shit you not.
It’s obvious that Loose (or sometimes The Loose) were strongly influenced by the Stooges, Radio Birdman and the Visitors. Their logo is a cop from Detroit’s forgotten boys. Just like the Darlinghurst darlings, their high-energy music weds overdriven guitars to keys and aggressive vocals. Throw in generous lashings of New Christs belligerence and you’ll be on the mark.
Loose existed in the mid-‘90s to the early ‘00s, forming in the Italian village of Penna San Giovanni from the ashes of Fuzz Ducks and Papernoga. They toured the USA in 2001 and released three killer albums, “Kiss Your Ass Goodbye”, “Rock The Fuck On” and “Dodge This!”.
“Action Breed” collects their “Be Loose” and “Untamed” vinyl EPs, a dozen demos and compilation tracks and the “Kiss Your Ass Goodbye” album in seriously remixed form and lays them out over two CDs.
The compilation has been years in the making and owes its existence to Paolo Petrini, the band’s late co-vocalist-guitarist. For the newbies, “Rock The Fuck On” and “Dodge This!” are the definitive releases but “Action Breed” is a wonderful introduction to a band that should have been huge.
Over to vocalist-guitarist Massimo Contigiani: “I always thought the album needed a remix, but since the drive with the recordings was long lost , all it was left was a bunch of CDs with the different mixed versions. Hence the decision to try a thorough remaster.
“And, since I was at it, drop in the EPs, the demos and all the rest you see on the second CD
"I took my time to go through all the details and it eventually took (on and off, of course) some three or four years. The CD format was the choice merely because of production costs but also because these tunes had never been released in that format.”
“Kiss Your Ass Goodbye” was a sonically flawed debut that was in need of a re-boot. There’s more definition to the guitars and bottom end in this version, and the vocal is EQ'd to good effect.. The songs are from the 1999 line-up where Contigiani and Petrini shared guitar and vocal duties. Later recordings would bring in saxophone and Luca Zenobi on guitar.
“Kiss Your Ass Goodbye” is mostly driving twin-guitar rockers but “Circle Of Love” is a departure with keys adding a nice textural dimension. “Wind of Lust” flicks the switch back to “Radios Appear” and “Fun House” with a flat-strap tempo and squawling guitars. Loose were in the thrall of those bands but applied their own methodology and pulled it off better than most.
The demos on disc two show a broadened musical palette that nods in the direction of the “Nuggets” LP, DMZ and Lyres in places, with Gianvincenzo Lombi’s organ well to the fore.
There’s a version of “Anglo Girl Desire” from an Italian Radio Birdman tribute record that’s played way too fast for its own good, but ithat happens to the best of ‘em (Radio Birdman's “Live In Texas” from 2007,anyone?) Loose’s cover of “Sheena Is a Punk Rocker” entwines fuzz guitar with rollicking electric piano to groovy effect, and the closing rehearsal version of “Loose” (the Stooges song) is a nice, frenetic touch.
Drummer Cristiano Gradozzi’s steady feel locks down the driving “Wind of Lust” nicely as guitars blaze away in the background.
And just in case you were writing these guys off as copyists, the Loose take on “I Wanna Be Your Dog” is a brooding, deconstructed version that sears with intensity. - The Barman
We have a limited number of "Action Breed" for sale to Australian byers only here. If you're overseas, hit up the band via their Facebook page. Two-hundred copies only.
