Genre: Noise / Experimental / Improv

01 Part one
02 Part two

Let me clear the air first. I absolutely detest cats. Anything to do with cats brings me out in an uncontrollable rage. I even swear obscenities at the television screen whenever a cat food advert appears. Sad I know. I just find them the most unlovable of all pets. They shit where they want, go where they want, act like sluts around other cats and come home only when they are hungry or can be arsed. No wonder women like them so much. So many traits alike. Women and cats. A bad combination. Every girlfriend I’ve had that loved cats never lasted. Though this could be because they kept catching me trying to kick fifteen colours of shit out of the little fuckers. Even the Koreans won’t eat them. Which tells you something. The only good cat is when the bastards are joined together in a fur coat. Knowing my feelings towards these four legged freaks was probably the only reason I got this to review. Give it to Al. He’ll start the review with a rant about cats. I’m so glad I met with expectations. Hate to let anyone down.

My Cat is an Alien…or MCIAA for short…is an Italian duo formed by the brothers Maurizio and Roberto Opalio. Since 1997 / 1998 they have been releasing a steady stream of releases in many different formats and on different labels. The brothers have even set up their own record label, Opex Records, and released some very intriguing art orientated pieces. In fact the whole concept of MCIAA is based around a creative need to explore the different media and bring them all together. In case I forget to mention it…MCIAA is a fucking great name for a band. Even though it has the dreaded ‘C’ word within it. Credit where credit is due. At this juncture in a review I would normally blab about how ‘Leave me in the black No-Thing’ is comparable to their previous releases. Well you lucky buggers I’ll not hit you with that today. Because today is revelation day. This is my first ever MCIAA experience. I haven’t even heard them on any of my numerous compilations I have stacked all around me. Truth will out.

The brothers Opalio are exponents of what is known in music circles as improvisations...or improv for short. The dreaded, to some ears, style of music that has been known to drive people to the hills quicker than you can say: Where the fuck are you going? Admittedly I have been accosted by examples of this form of music that had me reaching for my own hiking boots. Here is not the place to recount those experiences. These two tracks with the very imaginative titles, tongue wedged firmly in cheek here, give improv a good name. The music is concreted into the noise / experimental side of things with a style that could only be called typically Italian. A machismo strut of arrogance and self belief with a sexy wink for the ladies. Though the sort of woman that could be turned on by this music I’ve yet to meet. Track one: Part one is a 30+ minute piece that, not to make any bones about it, is a fanatical multi layered / textured extravaganza that veers close to unadulterated noise before being forcibly reigned in. Created by a huge array of different musical instruments the piece is as abstract and surreal as a Dadaists painting. The music floating like cosmic debris around a flower and fish motif. Get that picture into your head and you’ll understand what I’m talking about. The utilisation of seemingly everything under the sun creating this complex and challenging piece that is full of body and fluid motion as its movements flow in an ever constant flux. As Bachman Turner Overdrive sang: You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet. Just substitute ‘seen’ for ‘heard’ for this line to work. Track two: Part two is 25+minutes of exactly the same musical conundrum. The brain trying to desperately decipher an aural landscape that threatens to implode under the weight of sonic excess, pizzazz and free form mutilation. The ears jostled, touched up and accosted on all sides like a tourist in the Piazza Marconi. Only as the music finally hits its last notes of tranquil resolution can the full appreciation of what has been heard be finally comprehended. This is not easy music for the unwary traveller setting out on a sonic adventure. The exploration is hard going and few will be able to make it through to the end. Those that do will never forget the experience. ‘Leave me in the black No-Thing’ takes no prisoners.

There you have it then. 55+ minutes of difficult music for difficult times. An exhibition of purist improv the likes of which you’ve probably never heard before. All done by the brothers with no overdubs or outtakes. A remarkable achievement in anyone’s book. MCIAA is an apt name. Pussy power from another planet. One of the few cats that even I can tolerate. Just.