Guano Padano

There's no town, er, genre big enough to contain the Italian experimental folk jazz of Tucson, AZ's Guano Padano. The outfit centres upon Alessandro Stefana and includes multi-instrumentalists Zeno De Rossi and Danilo Gallo. The project boasts such guests as Bobby Solo (a legendary Italian singer), former Jeff Buckley guitarist Gary Lucas, Chris Speed and Alessandro Alessandroni, the famous whistler for distinguished Italian composer Ennio Morricone. As you trek through the record, a complex storyline emerges that makes about as much sense as a REM dream cycle. Song after song conjures a film score sequence that includes a showdown between a spaghetti western Clint Eastwood and The Godfather's Don Corleone, but in a '60s spy thriller. "Danny Boy" shifts back and forth between Americana and Mediterranean influences, with some Mariachi thrown into the mix. "Bull Buster" is set up arcade-style, complete with the tinkling of coins in the intro and gaming sound effects throughout, and just when you think it's the end, it wins a second life! Then there's the highly energetic "Epiphany"; it'll have you so spellbound you'll find yourself careening down the highway, weaving through lanes evading spies. They should have a warning on the jacket: don't listen while driving.