Almamegretta actually sounds like a self-contained Italian equivalent of
Adrian Sherwood's On-U Sound gang on their debut album. The title track and "Figli di Annibale" ("Children of Hannibal") in particular recall reggae-rooted dub sound science wizardry à la
Sherwood, but
Animamigrante is an album full of
Almamegretta's own atmospheric tricks and urban mix techniques, groove music that pays careful attention to melody. The opening "'O BBuono E 'O Malamente" evokes
Peter Gabriel a bit, but the acoustic "Suddd," with its dub bassline, Arabic-tinged melodies, and vocals in Italian (actually Neapolitan) dialect, shows the quartet's commitment to expanding the dub sound spectrum by bringing their own Mediterranean elements into the mix. "Sangha e Anema" starts off with upbeat ragga toasting before shifting to a mournful, moody Arabic keyboard and vocal melody over the continuing beat for the bridge -- a formula
Almamegretta often returns to here and on later albums. "Fattallà" is pure ragga, but very haunting, atmospheric, "heady" music as much as body rock, which is a pretty good description of
Almamegretta's style and the intelligence the group displays in balancing both sides of the dub equation. A very strong debut by a group that dub underground fans should make the extra effort to seek out.