Release Date: 6 October 2017
Song Count: 7
Rating: 7.3/10
Description:
A solo discography full of instrumental electronic music is the last thing one might expect from a member of an industrial rock band such as Nine Inch Nails, but that is exactly what Alessandro Cortini provides, with Avanti being a prime example of this complete contrast in musical genres.
The tracks within Avanti are droning pieces that dive into a dream-like, ethereal ambience via the use of distorted waves, synths, keys and other sounds that repeat melodic motifs and make the grand picture sound lulling and meditative. It is not all one big dull dronefest, however, as the minutities in the way certain instruments are introduced and chords progress over time lead to pockets of tension build-up within the music, providing the songs with subtly noticeable structures to hold them coherent. Percussion in its proper form is entirely missing within the tracks, with matchingly distorted sounds being the closest thing there is that takes on that role.
Towards the starts or ends of the individual tracks, the music is occasionally interrupted by the sounds of people chatting in public settings in Italian, further delving into the album's surrealist energy - it is as if one is in a state beyond the material "reality" that lets one connect to the rest of humanity, desperately reaching for that connection and for an escape from this unreal yet lonely realm, yet remaining stuck within its confines.
A very well-crafted ambient album, albeit not one that sticks out to me on a grand level.
(Also, the final ending note hurts my ears.)