The wheel, the circle, the cycle, the ouroboros. All these images are conjured up by the cover and title of MESSA’s fourth album. Is this a sign that the band is afraid of going round in circles? Yet this pattern is far from depicting this unique band’s new adventurous work. Even if the road is full of pitfalls.
In the trail of the “At Races” video, showing vocalist Sara Bianchin riding the roads of ex-Yugoslavia, the record demonstrates the Italian foursome’s desire to be elsewhere. This need to travel, this irrepressible urge to keep moving without getting lost, is as much an escape as a desire to move forward. It’s also a salutary reminder: by following the road of Spomeniks, the anti-fascist monuments created by Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian artists in homage to WWII’s local resistance fighters, the video tells us to keep an eye on history to avoid going down its cursed forks again.
The album was recorded in three different locations but with a similar setting to maintain the cohesiveness, and what immediately strikes us about “The Spin” is how much it branches off from the oriental road of their latest album “Close”. This time, we follow the paths of coldwave and gothic rock right from the introductory “Void Meridien”, where signs point to the Sisters of Mercy, Killing Joke or The Sound (an excellent yet underrated band). It’s impossible not to think of Siouxsie Sioux when Sara sings over the galloping rhythm of “At Races”. A repetitive synth motif launches “Fire on the Roof”. The sound is raw and straightforward, as usual with them, yet it doesn’t shy away from a few effects such as gated reverb on drums — typical of English productions from the late 70s.
Okay, the road has changed. But Messa hasn’t lost its footing and the engine is still fuelled by their doom and stoner influences (“Thicker Blood”, “Fire on the Roof”, “Reveal”). The love of Jimmy Page is still prominent in Alberto’s guitar work, and his solos are as surprising and inspired as ever. Through thoughtful narration, the Italians let their songs grow and tell their own story, as on the stunning latest single “The Dress”, where Sara’s vampiric anxieties are embodied in a haunting bridge adorned by a jazz trumpet, before melting into a collision of blast beats.
The lyrical themes are more explicit, reflective, and perhaps less mystical too. “I never spoke so clearly in our previous records about insecurity, misery, uneasiness, anguish and distress,” says Sara. Star system, profit-seeking, loss of meaning or patriarchy: it is clear that the trappings of the music industry — and of a society that just seems to want to crush us — weigh heavily on Sara and Messa’s psyche. And sometimes escape is the only solution.
“Biting like a horse
At races
Every stare
Weighs on my saddle bags”
The album ends with a cry of frustration and rage that resonates long after listening, and Messa keeps showcasing their multi-faceted creativity throughout these seven tracks. “The Spin” is denser and more direct than the previous one. Once again, it’s a masterpiece driven by a heartrending sincerity and adventurous spirit, proving once again that Messa can be counted on to drive forward a doom scene often crushed by its own weight and at times biting his own tail.
“…and the spin that is never ending.”
Last modified: 10 April 2025
