Dishevelled, mid-tempo punk has a way of getting under your skin and SPIRITO DI LUPO are the perfect representatives. Raw and snarling, they play short and snappy hardcore punk inspired by the ’80s Italian sound. Based between Milan and Bologna, SPIRITO DI LUPO features members of KOBRA, SKALP, CERIMONIA SECRETA, HORROR VACUI, TUONO and an array of other fine projects. This diverse musical background serves SPIRITO DI LUPO well, as they lurk and jerk between the angry edge of hardcore and the darker dwellings of anarcho punk. Mixing the raw with the rudimentary, their compositions are as ominous and sulky as they are ecstatic and wild. This mix works unusually well and, as a result, their five tracks manage to sound both militant and frolicingly chaotic. Sharp, catchy, almost psychedelic riffs meet a strong and brooding bass, which in turn complements the primitive and raucous drumming. The dual male and female vocals take this notion one step further, with the deep, slurring and sarcastic male vocals contrasting effectively with the strident, more urgent female ones. Their overall sound is aggressive and yet inviting, and this jovial ataxia is none more evident than on their redo of their opening track, “I miei occhi sono chiusi”. The atrocities of humanity often highlight the beauty of the world, and this paradoxical aesthetic comes through in SPIRITO DI LUPO’s artwork, lyrics and sound, complete with stormy weather field recordings on the closing track. (Lydia Athanasopoulou) 200 bright orange pro-dubbed cassettes housed in a Norelco box with a 2 color J-Card sleeve. Recorded in spring 2020. Mixed & Mastered by Will Killingsworth at Dead Air. Artwork by Francesco Goats.