ALBUM REVIEW: Close – Messa

Creating convincing fusions of different musical styles is not easy, but when it’s done right, the effect can be truly mesmerising. Rock has a long and storied culture of drawing in influences from far and wide: early psychedelic rock, notably including the THE BEATLES, took inspiration from traditional Indian music and raga, while European folk influences can be heard in the early days of what became known as progressive rock, especially in bands like JETHRO TULL. That has carried over well into the present day, with bands like KHURANGBIN and KING GIZZARD & THE LIZARD WIZARD producing sincere and playful takes on musical fusion respectfully.

Italy’s MESSA demonstrated their aptitude for stylistic fusion on Feast For Water in 2018, which incorporated elements of jazz and even lounge music in places, and enriched their otherwise fairly traditional take on doom rock. Add to that singer Sara Bianchin’s characteristic vocal style and the band managed to capture the imagination of doom fans worldwide who were looking for a little more than downtuned riffs and superlative volume. With experienced musicianship, their ability to write songs with extraordinary dynamic play soon made them something of a cult phenomenon, and the band were featured at Roadburn Festival the following year.

The band have taken their time working on album number three (a notoriously tricky milestone) and release Close on Svart Records this month. Unlike Feast For Water, Close wears its influences on its sleeve, featuring photographic artwork of Berber women performing the Nakh, or ‘hair dance’, which is also performed by the band in their music video for lead single Pilgrim. Not quite a concept album, but definitely an album with a concept, Close transports its listener far and wide in its double-length running time.

This time, MESSA inflect their traditional doom rock sound with pan-Mediterranean influences, but with instrumentation and imagery which seem to skew south and eastward. It’s an interesting choice, especially in a scene where ‘folk’ has become synonymous with ‘northern European’, and the band have once again done well to permeate their album with exploratory choices rather than overwhelm it with novelties.

Those cross-cultural influences can be heard primarily in their choice of instrumentation, but also in the hooks and riffs which most songs are structured around. To that end it’s recognisably ‘doom’ in many ways, but satisfyingly exotic to our ears. The album reintroduces some instrumental passages, which were such a large part of debut Belfry, but built into song structures on Feast For Water. Building some dynamics into the album structure itself supports the journey-like feeling of the album, but avoids the conceptual-excess of something more overtly progressive.

Close feels like a carefully-crafted successor to Feast For Water which expands and develops MESSA’s distinctive appeal. The band have become well-known for painting interesting textures onto a canvas of down-tuned doom rock, and this time they add flourishes of pan-Mediterranean sounds to create a satisfying fusion-style. A double-album which transports its listener far and wide, Close is conceptual enough to be interesting, but conventional enough to remain accessible. More than anything, Close establishes MESSA as a band who will be producing unique and satisfying records for years to come.

Rating: 8/10

Close is out now via Svart Records.

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