Futuropaco : Fortezza di Vetro

The world of Futuropaco, the Italio psych musical project of multi-instrumentalist Justin Pinkerton(Golden Void/The Roots Of Orchis/glass parallels) is like the wind in your hair as you race a Vespa through the cobblestone streets of Northern Italy. Tight jazz drumming, fuzz guitars, and ethereal keys carry you along on a psychedelic slipstream. It’s a sophisticated, baroque, and sometimes melancholy sound world that instantly takes you out of your surroundings, and into Futuropaco’s world.

On Futuropaco’s debut 2018 release with El Paraiso Records, the songs were engaging, driving, and full of psychedelic vibes. It was like the score to some Mario Bava spy film, with touches of the 60s counterculture spirit for good measure. Pinkerton may be a southern Cali native, but Futuropaco makes the argument he’s got some Morricone or Simonetti spirit running through him.

After 5 years Pinkerton and Futuropaco have returned to the hallowed halls of El Paraiso Records with Fortezza di Vetro. No sophomore slump here, Futuropaco picks up where the debut left off. This time the songs hang in the air a little longer; notes dissipate like faint wisps of smoke while melodies haunt the mind long after they cease to make sound. Fortezza di Vetro is Futuropaco in reflective mode. The same cobblestone streets, except this time they’re slightly more contemplated and haunted.

“Muro Vuoto” opens the album with fuzz guitars, wah wah, and ethereal keys humming over a groovy-as-hell drum part. It’s a head bopping affair that never relents. The Vespa has been replaced with a sleek Alfa Romeo. “Tirannia Velata” keeps the grooves going, but with some engaging sonic touches. The song has an almost melancholy feel to it as synths, bass, and strings intermingle with lush results. “Chi Vedi Nello Specchio” has a real swinging jazz feel, somewhere between Gábor Szabó lighting the evening up with Strawberry Alarm Clock and Pharoah Sanders.

Elsewhere “Culto Della Morte” lays down some serious Italia funk with an LSD chaser while “Occhi Malvagi” has one of the tightest rhythm sections put to a Futuropaco release. Colored in with some wavering synth touches and delayed wah guitar this track lays down some serious groove for days. The beautifully baroque “La Storia Dell’Aviditia” is equal parts Alan Parsons and Le Orme. The album closes out on the dreamy “Omicidio Per Soldi”, a song that savors every moment of its runtime. There’s a contentment in the bittersweet, melancholy nature of the piece.

Futuropaco returns in a big way with Fortezza di Vetro, a buzzing, groove-heavy album that expands on what came before while staying true to the project’s origins. Dizzying, fuzzed-out psych with just the right amount of melancholy for good measure. Justin Pinkerton and Futuropaco have done it again. Fantastico!

Preorder ‘Fotezza di Vetro’ over at El Paraiso Records here. Album ships 10/13.