"When the sawn-off shotgun sings/The traitor screams and dies," is the translation to the opening line of "Omertá" ("The Law of Silence"), a number whose boastful and threatening sentiments are echoed in countless gangsta-rap albums. Yet the words here are accompanied by a lovely accordion and two swift and sweet acoustic guitars, making music as warm and traditional as a plateful of pasta.
Beyond the initial shock of the amoral subject matter -- the disc was banned in Italy, after all -- the jolt in this music lies in the disjunction between gore and grace. Crafty segues and a variety of folk styles -- from the polka-like romps known as tarantellas to semioperatic ballads replete with recitative climaxes -- also help keep the spilled blood from coagulating.
