Lourdes Rebels - Necronomicon III (2023)

Like entering the door of awareness, sidestepping into Prince of Persia or being reduced to an 8-bit ghoul while floating in space… this is Lourdes Rebels’ ‘Necronomicon 3’, their third album co-released by Aagoo, Maple Death and My Own Private Records.

Lourdes Rebels are a duo from Parma, Italy, active since 2010. After two albums produced in 2015 and 2017 and released by Aagoo Records, here comes their third LP, outlining an ideal uncanny trilogy. The record, titled “Necronomicon 3”, echoes horror ambiences, steeped in elusive mystery and wrapped in unsettling and ineffable atmospheres, without giving up that ironic touch that somehow represents the conceptual red thread of the duo's production. The analog synthesizers (mainly Prophet 6 and Yamaha Ps-20) shine more than in any previous production, weaving plots full of sardonic restlessness, which at times can recall the recordings of 70s horror films. But that's not all: if on the one hand the tracks plunge into the maze of library music and electronic research, there is no shortage of forays into garage rock (as evidenced by the cover of Teddy And His Patches "Suzy Creamcheese", which in turn takes explicit inspiration from “Son of Suzy Creamcheese” by Frank Zappa), in art rock (Kookaburra) and new wave-goth suggestions (Damask Garden, Jacuzzi Soup). The disc hosts the singer Francesca Cuttica of the Roma Est band Wow on the final cut. Like the other albums, this one was also recorded partly using a 4-track analog cassette recorder and partly digitally. The master was engineered by Giuseppe Ielasi. Intrigue or not, plunge in.