Review: Small Thing – s/t

The debut album of the Genoese band “Small Thing”

From the first moment I saw the album cover, I had so much sympathy for the new Small Thing release.
What’s on the album cover? Dinosaurs! And, what’s our logo? Behold!
So, to summarize, I was pretty quiet when at some point I discover the misadventure of Alberto, bassist and author of the lyrics of the band that has been robbed of his bass, those damn…
Now, besides being a rather empathetic individual, I play too, so helping the band was really natural. Add that I found the music cassette “Really, It’s not a Big Deal” so strong and here we go writing this review!
This Self Titled by Small Thing, strictly played on 12 ” vinyl, has just been released by the Genoese Label “Flamingo Records” (it is the seventh release of the label) and presents itself with a transparent red/orange color. Very chic!
I put on the record and the intro starts with a screaming “Introooo” (the entire lyrics are brilliant). It was love at first listening. Then it continues with all the other songs, that are short but not too much, where there’s not a fixed and boring structure, but instead I found something smart in it.
The musical proposal generated by the Small Thing is a very distinctive punk rock, where powerful and catchy guitar riffs work well together with the bass lines (that “can be steel or be a feather”) and the drums (that never miss the groove).
To all this we have to add some well-made choirs and Monica’s voice, absolutely particular, that gives the right nergy and determination to the whole record.
The album is extremely compact, it goes from straighter songs to calmer (but not too much) ones, with a leap towards in some ska-punk nuances (like in “Refraction”) where sax and trumpet are added.
After several listenings I decided that there was no one better song than the others, but “Wasted”, “Bloody Mary” and “All About Me” are the ones that stayed in my head the most.
From the booklet, I read with pleasure that the album was recorded and mixed by the guitarist David Robert (Diy or Die!) while the master was done at Studio K (Genoa).
The album is dedicated to little Simone (sharing the same surname as the drummer I assume he is his son, but he could also be his nephew).
In conclusion, I listened to a punk rock album with knobs on, so badass and melodic at the same time, without being cloying and that I found quite original. Punk rock is not just music and “Small Thing” have succeeded with passion and heart to pull out a record that exudes great dedication and great feeling among the four members. It’s been a long time since I hadn’t listened to a punk rock record, I’m happy to have “rediscovered” it with this. Rock on!

Vote: 8/10

Translation by Vito di Venosa
Review by Tom