Officine Schwartz - Carica! download free

A twelve-inch four track offering from this enigmatic and talented bunch. Side one opens with the title track, “Carica!" which thumps along on a steady Industrial beat while the horn section plays like a Brass Band brought yelping happily into the Twentieth Century. The steady bludgeoning drum beat keeps the whole thing together while the musicians play arpeggios of golden sound. The vocalists, both male & female add even more to this great piece of musric. There's even elements of SKA towards the end. Given a decent boost, this might ever enter the charts - the novelty value might convince the bovine millions to buy it, and we can dig the TEST DEPT-like fanfares which appear like escapees from "A Good Night Out". “La Ghisa” comes next, and is O.S.'s foray into Jazz (sounding not unlike that NINA SIMONE record "My Baby Just Cares For Me"). The B’ side opens with "L’Incudine Languida”, a sort of Funk-based thing with ‘Plucked Bass’ sounds, although the style crossover which seems ingrained into O.S. blurs any strict style. “G.R.U.” closes the E.P.and is another piece of Industrial music, opening with machine sounds, then diversifying into Jazz type areas. It is an unusual & quite unsettling piece of music, although it’s not easy to see why. Lots of metal percussion is in evidence, and what sounds like creative sequencing pervades. Originally reviewed for Soft Watch.