Act Noir – Cosmo Minimized ep

The history of Act Noir dates back to 1994. They were then founded in Italy under the name Alma Mater. The band made 3 demo tapes, with darkwave-inspired music with classical and ethnic elements, mostly made with electronic means. In 1998 the band underwent a transformation. Three new bandmembers came, while Sergio Calzoni stayed as the only original member. The band had more of a rock line-up now, with guitar, bass and drums. New influences entered in their music, like trip-hop, ambient and even techno and prog-rock. Another change was that Sergio moved to Denmark, where he set up a home-based studio.
On this ep Act Noir offers us 5 songs, which sound mature. Midtempo songs, which fuse wave, pop, rock and ambient. Nothing revolutionary, simply pleasant to listen to. The compositions are good and varied, the production is clear and the vocals are moving. Act Noir misses perhaps something unique which makes them really stand out, but nevertheless they have give me a positive impression here.