OvO – Abisso

Halloween may be done with for another year, but there are plenty of long nights ahead; plenty of inky witching hours crying out for a suitably unsettling soundtrack, preferably one with a daft edge so as to keep the demons from taking over. Italian doom-sludge-drone-etc duo OvO are specialists in such matters, and latest LP Abisso proves as dark as its namesake but with moments of silliness that depressurise the oppressive atmosphere.

Whether the latter trait is wholly deliberate is another matter, though Grand Guignol titles like I Cannibali and a final track of squeals and screeches (plus drummer Bruno Dorella’s tendency to perform wearing a luchador mask) all suggest awareness of the absurdity underlying their ghoulish façade. As on past releases, Stefania Pedretti’s idiosyncratic vocals are key: whimpering, growling, gibbering and screaming, her range stops their simple setup from growing repetitious, though also earns the album its ‘approach with caution’ epithet. [Chris Buckle]