Il Maniscalco Maldestro plays experimental rock with strong dosages of European traditional music and avant-pop by way of Pere Ubu. I have never seen them live but I suspect they have very visual performances as their music sounds quite theatrical. The band offers several albums on their web site, all free and legal. While all of them are good, I chosen only the 2005 self-titled album to feature as it is the best produced and covers many of the same songs that are on their earlier efforts.

The self titled album has 12 tracks of entertaining psychodrama rock and roll. Their tight balancing of traditional, cabaret, and rock is reminiscent of the Russian/Estonian band Ne Zhdali. The first track “miscuote…mincanta” features an emotional, often snarling vocalist that well suits this hyper tune. The second track “Cart-Sagna” would have fit nicely in a Fellini film. Indeed, there is a surrealist feel to this music that is purely Italian. The use of accordian on some tracks strengthens the cabaret sense of this music. The jazzy “Metamorfosi Plausibile” is a delightful jaunt and may be my favorite track on the album. “Ego” slows things down a bit and give a change to admire the musicianship but we are still in a surrealist dream. I just realized I am in danger of listing each track in order which may give you the idea that each song has its own little surprise and unique quality. You would be right. It might be best if you just download and enjoy. This is one of the most interesting new albums I’ve heard for a long time from a European rock group.

The album is available in 192kbps MP3. As I mentioned before, there are three other albums by Il Maniscalco Maldestro available. They are all good, but one album by this odd but excellent band is enough for my moments of madness.

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