Wretched- Libero di Vivere, Libero di Morire LP (1984)
It occurs to me that the Wretched are a much more stylized band than one gives them credit for being. (Please note the guitar and drummer are different here than on the split 7” with Indigesti, which is a wonderful record but to which the following comments do not really apply.)
On this LP, the guitar is all shimmering atmosphere, laid out in oblique slabs—hardly the mighty roar of the Swedish Discharge-style bands, or the shrill feedback of Confuse, the lawnmower of Ratos de Porao, the chunky drama of Crucifix, or the paper-thin palm-muting of Bastards. The Wretched guitar sound is a real head-turner: buzzy when it should be powerful, moody where it ought to be menacing, and more like Hüsker Dü’s Metal Circus (“Dentro Te”) than any self-respecting raw punk band ought to be. The guitar solos are an entirely different matter: here you really do get a “Mediterranean” spin on the Discharge style. But this has to be heard: “Virus 15-5-84”
The great game of analyzing the Wretched vocal style is to imagine what it would sound like in English. I think what’s notable about it, besides the singer’s evident, purposeful pronunciation of ev-er-y syllable, is that he doesn’t sing “with” the riff at all. Every reader is now picturing the Discharge haiku, and that’s a big part of it… but only if you cleanse that influence of all its subsequent calcified associations. In a way, through the Wretched, you can hear what Discharge sounded like at the time… i.e. with the weight put on a completely different set of elements than for the Swedish bands. But there is also something stylized here. I’ll point out something obvious but maybe overlooked: dude isn’t shouting/screaming. This is more like Negative Trend than Negazione. Again, worth revisiting with fresh ears. “What is actually going on?”
The style is resolutely un-crusty and at times quite loping and bouncy. If I recall correctly, the subsequent material has a pronounced Motorhead influence, but insofar as this coheres as an album—frankly, not much—this is the Unknown Pleasures to their early singles.
What is the pleasure of listening to this record? It isn’t overflowing with hooks, and the indifference of the vocals to the music makes every song a bit the same to a non-Italian speaker. But, for one thing, I think these songs all really *did* serve different functions in the band’s mind. And the more one listens, the more each song has an interesting identity and is not just a backing track for some ranting. But the ranting is key: the point is to *grab* your attention, as with Crass. It is like having someone constantly tapping you on the shoulder and pointing—“this!” “this!” “this!” “here!” “now!” “this is the important part!” “look!” Whereas with Negazione the vocals tend to be a disposable effect and distraction, and with Raw Power the melody somewhat dissolves the actual lyrics, in the Wretched, the intended emphasis is never lost or dissipated. One really is on the edge of one’s seat.
If it seems that I am departing from my usual obsession with “neat parts” and “take-away” moments for this review… I don’t know. Like the Minutemen’s early records or Rudimentary Peni’s Death Church, Libero di Vivere Libero di Morire is a record I continually revisit despite not having obvious standouts. On the other hand, if you will read what I wrote above, it is not a question of a “feel” or an “overall atmosphere.” The whole record is riveting, as I have just been explaining. And, as I also suggested, there certainly is an effect being produced here, which the band is well in control of—and I hate to say, it’s not “chaos non musica.” But it’s so idiosyncratic and off-kilter that there is also an intellectual interest in grasping *what it is about this* that “works.” It may be only that another 20 years will tell. And I think I am being entirely consistent with my recent posts in saying that what is interesting about the Wretched is something one has to go there to find out about: i.e. to process and sort through the whole record, as it is—with fresh ears and eyes if possible. Our tastes are something we ourselves should *own* as part of our experience, you know.
[Recommended]
