Calicoco’s New Album ‘Underneath’ Is An Uncompromising Indie Rock Exorcism | music reviews
Marissa M. Conner
2 min read
Long Island-based multi-instrumentalist Giana Caliolo rocks invigorating, mindful rock on “Underneath,” the second full-length album from their Calicoco recording project. After 2018’s “Float,” “Underneath” amps up Calicoco’s angsty lyrics and non-formal song structures. This is Caliolo – who played in Rochester bands Secret Pizza and Pony Hand – at their most honest and uncompromising.
Recorded in Rochester with Stephen Roessner and Phil Shaw, and released Sept. 3 via Dadstache Records, “Underneath” shows Caliolo dealing with an internal conflict sparked by an intense breakup, which led to a period of pain and guilt. “I really had a hard time living with myself,” they say. “I definitely had times when I didn’t want to be here.”
Underneath by Calicoco
This feeling is immediately apparent in the fiery opener “I Hate Living With Me”, a track that constantly builds from its marching beat and smashing guitar run, introducing the album’s dark, cohesive tone. “Strangers” turns into a hazy wall of sounds as claustrophobic as they are uplifting, while the haunting title track is raw and direct.
Underneath by Calicoco
The gripping anthem “Heal Me” is a full three-minute exorcism that is Caliolo’s most personal statement on the nine-track album: “Kill me / Sue me / Hear me / Feel me / Feed me / Breed / Cure me / Learn me,” they sing, before quickly moving on to the urgent words, “Just give me a fucking lobotomy.
The swooning “Melancholy” is fueled by its earworm blend of sharp post-punk and distorted desert rock. The closest slow-burning “I Was the Devil” is a reworked version of the original track that appeared on 2019’s “Remnant” EP. compelling and heartbreaking.
There’s really nothing comfortable about listening to “Underneath”. The album is an intense, technicolor explosion, a chaotic trip down the rabbit hole with the thoughts of Caliolo – clashing at first, but ultimately calming at the end.
Joe Massaro is a freelance writer for CITY. Comments on this article can be directed to [email protected].
