Album review: Stormo – Tagli/Talee

Brevity can be a good thing, something Stormo are well aware of, cramming 11 tracks into just 22 minutes. Embracing various facets of hardcore as they do so, they stir up a variety of moods, some more affecting than others, and there's no denying the pleasing sense of nostalgia harking back to the early ’00s that rears its head repeatedly.

After the brief and pretty instrumental Tagli they roar to life with the searing Sabbia, a breakneck squall that like everything that follows is raw yet rich, and is as good as they get. They do not get stuck in one gear, and there's a variety of tempos spread across the record, and the dreamy Talee is as affecting as the faster Bordi, and their no-nonsense approach, keeping everything brief, just makes things more essential.

Sabbia Pt.2 Ghiaccio and closer Come Fauce Che Divora feature some subtle electronics, which suits them well, particularly on the former, and adds to the textured nature of their music without compromising their integrity or suggesting they are trying to fit in somewhere they do not belong. Best of all here, though, is the urgent, aching Riva, which washes over you with sheets of desperate guitar and stabbing drums that give way to swirling picking and is just screaming out to be loved.

While this ultimately might most appeal to fans of the previously mentioned era it frequently references there is a vitality that is rooted in the right now, and that means something. Take a step back in time to move forward.

Verdict: 3/5

For fans of: At The Drive-In, Converge, Thursday

Tagli/Talee is released on March 21 via Prosthetic