Italian trio 3ONVEGA deliver an impassioned instrumental rock sound on their APAX EP, capturing the sharp songwriting and evident musicianship of guitarist Alessandro Emmi, bassist Lorenzo Fiori, and drummer Claudio Sambusida. The EP takes its name from a Greek expression — “Hapax/Apax legomenon” — that refers to a word/expression that appears only once within a text. Aptly, the album successfully aims for a singular, idiosyncratic engrossment — succeeding in four tracks that exude differing personalities, in enjoyable form.
Opener “Arne Saknussem” builds with climactic momentum. Steady percussion accompanies a swelling range of guitars, from murky intrigue to buzzing distortion; the latter’s heavier rock prove especially compelling past the first minute, and within a satiating finale that finds glistening guitar lines intermingling beautifully with precise bass and drums.
The EP continues to impress from there, followed by the heavier rock vigor of “Vostok Mega Drive” and brisk energy of “Disco Black Matter,” melding math-rock and electronic components with inventive qualities; Emmi also employs loops within the band’s sound, adding versatility. “Phantom Cosmonauts” wraps up the album with some truly atmospheric, illuminated guitar work, finalizing the EP’s strongly memorable output.
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“Arne Saknussem” and other tracks featured this month can be streamed on the updating Obscure Sound’s ‘Emerging Singles’ Spotify playlist.
We discovered this release via MusoSoup, as part of the artist’s promotional campaign.
