SPIRITUAL FRONT: Rotten Roma Casino

Release year: 2010/2023
Label: Trisol/Prophecy/Auerbach Tonträger

Italian Spiritual Front’s fourth studio album Rotten Roma Casino is a modern classic within neofolk – understood in its broadest sense – and still features prominently in the band’s live set. Preceeded by Armageddon Gigolo in 2006, it was the second album where the band delved into what they’ve come to call “nihilist suicide pop” – a blend of tango, old Italian pop and modern crooners a’la Nick Cave. By this time, neofolk as a descriptor for a certain sound (acoustic guitar and wind chimes, naturally!) no longer in any way applied to the Italians. But that’s the background where they come from, and the tag seems to stick.

The original CD+DVD edition is still quite easy to come across. However, the version we’ve now put under scrutiny is the recent 2CD + DVD artbook, featuring an entire disc of bonus tracks and a whole new design. Even the cover is revamped: the rather tragic cat figure now has a much fancier frame. Doesn’t seem to cheer him up, though, does it?

If you’re into neofolk and/or Spiritual Front, there really is no excuse to not know this album. Not only is it – as already established above – a modern classic, but it’s also a significant step in Spiritual Fron’t career, seeing them embrace a more dramatic and wryly sleazy image laden with ambiguous (and not-so-ambiguous) sexuality, nihilism and fatal romance.

The hinge of Spiritual Front’s sound has always been and will always be founding member, leader and vocalist Simone Salvatori. It is his vocals and style which define the band, and on this album, he really seems to come into his own: his sensual, flamboyant style shook off the final vestiges of the understated muttering he was wont to use on earlier works. From those ashes he rises with the strut and flair of the phoenix: his vocals are sexy, teasing, dramatic, tragic, erotic and superbly emotive. Combine these with lyrics celebrating dark room romance and German boys – people uptight about their sexuality better not bother! – but also violence, death and vengeance. It’s all quite cinematic in a way – and theatralic, too. There is even an ode to Johnny Cash: this one cynically and nihilistically questions the country icon’s idealism.

Musically, the album proceeds further down the path indicated by the aforementioned Armageddon Gigolo. Tango, The Smiths, old Italian pop and crooner rock in the vein of Nick Cave and Leonard Cohen blend together into a catchy, melodic, exciting union. There’s the fiery passion of desire and the absoluteness of all-consuming love; the determination of vengeance and violence of conviction; but also the tender melancholy of love unrequited or love dying.

The album proper is filled to the brim with classic tracks, and sounds every bit as potent in 2023 as it did when first released. Granted, I do think the 2018 album Amour Braque is stronger still, but this is a fine, strong release exposing all of the finest elements of Spiritual Front.

The second disc is a mixture of bits and pieces for fans: there’s a cover of Type O Negative’s Everything Dies – unsurprisingly, a good fit for the band, and Salvatori nails the vocals – a strange dance mix of Darkroom Friendship, and an even stranger dub mix of the same song, and various songs not on the original album. The second disc clocks in at 37 minutes, so it’s basically another album’s worth of stuff. Nothing on the disc rises to the level of the album itself, but is definitely stuff fans will appreciate. The only downside is that the origins of these tracks isn’t mentioned anywhere.

The DVD is the same as on the original release: music videos, interviews, etc. Fun for a spin, but ultimately a bit of an afterthought.

This artbook edition is, like the similar editions of other Spiritual Front albums, pure fan service. But as far as fan service goes, it offers excellent value for money: the package looks nice and truly deluxe, and the second disc offers plenty for fans to dig into. For casual fans, either the vinyl edition released at the same time, or the original CD+DVD ultimately offer better value.

As an album, Rotten Roma Casino was and is a masterpiece of decadently erotic, subversive nihilist pop. This is the music of nightclubs of questionable repute of an age gone by, or lovers locked in embrace and strangers meeting briefly in the night. And it’s brilliant.

Visit Spiritual Front on their official website, Bandcamp or Facebook