RICO
SANCTUARY MEDICINES
ALBUM CHRYSALIS RELEASE: NOVEMBER 15, 1999 REVIEW: NOVEMBER 24, 1999
Life in Glasgow is no picnic,
apparently. Rico paints a picture of parties turned sour, unfocused contempt,
lousy beer and nihilism on his debut album. And when he loads his Beretta to go
take himself out on Kingston bridge in the terrific song "Black
Limo", you can't really think of anything to say to make him change his
mind.
Rico Capuano is
crossing boundaries the big way, whether trying on Tricky's shoes, stealing the
mike from Zak de la Rocha or borrowing lyric sheets from Trent Reznor. Somehow,
this mix of sleepy trip hop beats and grunge guitars sounds surprisingly fresh.
While the Tricky imitations aren't very successful, Rico really glows in the
faster numbers with explosive choruses that match Nirvana and Nine Inch Nails
in power. "Black Limo", "Attack Me" and "Shave Your
Head" would be constantly playing on the radio if there was any justice in
the world.
"Sanctuary
Medicines" is an extremely promising album. If this is Rico's "Pretty
Hate Machine", we can expect great things from him in the future. Just
don't ask to be cheered up. Expect to be beaten to the ground in some filthy
back alley in Glasgow.
MATTIAS HUSS
