Review

Funky bass lines or flailing mandolins, they're all shooting for the same transcendence.
In Southern Italy it was once believed that the only way to survive the bite of the tarantula was to dance yourself into a state of ecstasy. Or maybe it wasn't — it might just have been a way around the Church's ban on dancing. Whatever the real reason, the music of the tarantella has the same earthy, pagan intensity as the dance, whether it's in the wild, inspired madness of Lino Cannavacciuolo (sounding like Tom Waits after several bad nights on the grappa), the woozy roots psychedelia of Peppe Barra, or the softness of Tarantula Rubra Ensemble (who actually only contribute four tracks, although their name's above the title). The varied approaches don't matter, just as the origin of the tarantella is ultimately unimportant. Funky bass lines or flailing mandolins, they're all shooting for the same transcendence.