If you have never heard of Erotic Secrets Of Pompeii then the release of the band’s sophomore album, Pitchfork Libra, will be just as good place to start as their debut, Mondo Maleficum. This is a band that have made a very big name or themselves on the live circuit, with theatrical energy filled performances that will leave you feeling exhilarated. But does this transfer to the recorded side of this very different band. Well, if like their first album it gives you an original and unique experience, then this should be pretty damn good.

From the off this album has a similar feel to the first, the off kilter compositions are filled with drama, yet still have time for playfulness and lyrical imagery. ‘Ten Ton Delirium’ is the first moment to be unleashed on the unsuspecting listener, I think this is the point in the album that it becomes fairly apparent that lyrically this will be, as all this band’s songs are, something for the listeners own interpretation and understanding. However, there are some lucid moments hidden like little teasing gems in there, so we won’t spend hours trying to make sense of every nuance in there.  Musically though it’s seems reasonable to give you the heads up, this is an emotional rollercoaster of a ride, this track is explosive yet considered.

If you could buck a trend in the lyrical gymnastics of this album a tad, it might be in ‘Bring Me Back The Black Beyond’, with the line “birth follows death follows birth follows death” this strikes straight down the line with cycles of life and human interactions, although I could be reading this wrong!  It’s becoming obvious that this is an album that needs time to be fully digested, it’s musical enactments are just as complex as it word play. I love the quote “Like a serpent devouring its own tail” in the PR for the album, its a ring of fire that needs jumping through to get to the full meat of this dramatical enactment of an album.  

Some of the best moments in this piece of rock-art have to be ‘Speak Medieval’, a frantic and even dizzying mosh pit of glam fun. Then there’s the steadying of the ship song ‘Zygote’ if there could be a calming on sea that’s determined to capsize you at every turn. When you get to the end (if you survive that far) ‘Count To Ten With Nobody’ drops a whole load of off kilter grooves with elements of Jazz and enough psychedelic synth to bring it into the realms of madness that are themed throughout ‘Pitchfork Libra’.  Is this a stab at your midriff with said Pitchfork or a balancing act of sounds and words that never quite manages to hang steady, I’d say both, it never sits still and always has your mind racing to catch up. This could be a cult in the making, a Rocky Horror Show of the modern age.  Oh my head hurts, but in a good way.

Pitchfork Libra is out now and you can check out the band on Spotify, Soundcloud, Facebook and on their Website.

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