3 out of 5

Label: Touch and Go

Produced by: Steve Albini, Heather Whinna

Italian Platinum, for me, was the Firewater of latter-era Silkworm: plenty of crunch, attitude, and easy-to-love singles, but a song-to-song discrepancy that prevents it from hanging together as an album.

Starting with Lifestyle – though somewhat hinted at on their first Touch and Go disc, Blueblood – Silkworm became old man rockers instead of aged-by-drink punkers, and I mean that with all due reverence, because I love Silkworm from start to finish.  They just started taking a more time with their riffs – still plenty capable of whipping out ripping solos, mind you – and lyrics became wistful and wry versus drunken folly snide.  (Like, you switched from cheap beer to imported; from blackouts to a perpetual buzz.) With the common addition of Matt Kadane on keys, we get what I called “latter-era,” and by Italian Platinum, SKWM found an easy going cadence in that format.  This produces the normal spread of rockers and emotive crooners on the album, but behind that barebones cover there’s a similarly barebones vibe, like a set recorded while well rested between tours.  The lyrics have no real urgency, and that they give vocal duties over to Kelly Hogan for a track – though a great track – underlines this all the more.  There’s even, like, a guitar flub – and not a flattering one – on The Third; it causes me to cringe every time I hear it, as it upsets what’s an otherwise blistering opening few tracks to the disc… but also, for my ears, proves indicative of the album’s shrug and play m.o.

Which sounds horrible, but a seasoned group like Silkworm can deliver a moderately phoned in disc and still make it, overall, a winner.  Italian Platinum isn’t lazy, and stands above most of its peers.  But it lacks an of-the-moment zeitgeist that ties the experience together, leaving you with a bunch of quality, separate moments but an average (for this band) album.