|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
CD
|
|
NNF 212CD
|
"Goblin-worshipping classic gets reissued on CD digipak. Prophecy Of The Black Widow is Umberto's sophomore album and while the badass evil Italo goth-synth horror-score blueprint of Grave remains, the main variation is subtle vibe-shift from '70s Argento/Carpenter-isms into more early/mid-80s new wave creep-scapes. There's still plenty of eerie nightmare keyboard riffs and vintage witch-disco breakouts but the synths squelch with more of a neon retrofuturist bent and there's even one brazenly feel good soaring-into-the-sunset closing credits anthem (the literally-titled 'Everything Is Going To Be Okay'). Whatever prophecy Prophecy is foretelling, we're on board."
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
7"
|
|
NNF 227EP
|
"After 2 full-lengths mining vintage horror scores and Italo/Goblin-isms for inspiration, Kansas City riddler and composition whiz Umberto slow-pans his focus out of the graveyards and black widow cobwebs into the celluloid-stained artificial streets of Beverly Hills police beats and pop culture ghost-busting. Freeze! is an inscrutable but impressively legit reinvention of Jan Hammer-style '80s soundtrack cheese: soaring keyboard lines, fast-tappin' piano, locked-in bass grooves, goofy canned drums, baroque purple haze soloing, etc. 'Put An APB On Those Bastards' kicks things off with a tension-ramping Corvette cruise into the heat of the night, while 'Illegal Entry With Intent To Zuul' is a pitch-perfect rooftop chase scene that ends with somebody falling fifty stories into a posh private pool (and is apparently also somehow about that horned dog demon that possesses Sigourney Weaver in G-Busters?). A bizarre and thoroughly enjoyable curveball from one of our fave current music-makers. Black vinyl 45s in pro-printed jackets with hilarious/hijacked Eddie Murphy artwork by Derek Goon. Edition of 500."
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
LP
|
|
NNF 212LP
|
Repressed! "The one Umberto performance we had the rad fortune to bear witness to involved at least a dozen dudes, dads, and ladies all on stage wearing sunglasses at night and shredding keyboards/keytars bathed in a sea of fog machinery and strobe lights and extraterrestrially-costumed interpretive dancers. Shit was BEYOND. Umberto mastermind Matt Hill allegedly went to legit music school back in the day and used to play bass for Expo 70 (Justin/Expo released the debut Umberto tape/CDR, From The Grave, on his Sonic Meditations label) before splintering into his current electro-satanic Goblin worship guise -- and we for one can't get enough. Prophecy Of The Black Widow is his sophomore LP and though the badass evil Italo goth-synth horror-score blueprint of Grave remains, the main variation is subtle vibe-shift from 70s Argento/Carpenter-isms into more early/mid-80s new wave creep-scapes. There's still plenty of eerie nightmare keyboard riffs and vintage witch-disco breakouts but the synths squelch with more of a neon retrofuturist bent and there's even one brazenly feel good soaring-into-the-sunset closing credits anthem (the literally-titled 'Everything Is Going To Be Okay'). Whatever prophecy Prophecy is foretelling, we're on board. Black vinyl LPs in jackets with sick fake-3D lettering and art by Seth Johnson. Edition of 485."
|