270bis
Tracce

The 270bis are a little-known band, for a whole range of reasons related to their political history, which I am not going to bore you with here. Those interested can find information on Wikipedia, but I'll give you a heads up: set aside your prejudices, because in this album, there is very little that is political (in the common sense). A desire for freedom and justice, a mix of hope and resignation, in the face of historical abuse and denied rights, permeates the lyrics: simple, profound, moving. Piercing sounds of genuinely recorded instruments, acoustic guitar and saxophone first and foremost, accompany a journey through a sea of emotions in which the listener is immersed. It begins with Masha, the simple story of a farmer, representing an entire social class, whose land, and with it his whole life, has been taken away: a rhythmic song with simple chords, with the warm voice of Marcello De Angelis that shakes, moves, and penetrates to the bone. It continues with Siuil a gra, where the beautiful female voice of Chiara Ciavardini dominates over the dark sounds of the acoustic fabric, articulating on octaves unreachable by most. “Il poeta” is another story made of poetry and oppression, of courage and denied freedoms, with a dramatic but hopeful ending, so that the sacrifice is not in vain, because, despite everything, the mark left by the righteous remains indelible over time. In “Nanni è partito”, the theme is still that of an extreme act of freedom, of the will not to bow to injustices, but this time the story is addressed imaginatively to a child, the victim's brother, and thus takes on fantastical connotations. The theme of union and fraternal affection is revisited in “Nella tua stanza”: the dark and melancholic atmosphere is that of prison, where time stands still and thoughts fly freely through the bars. More progressive pieces then begin, a crescendo that starts from “Chi più mi prenderà” (another hymn to escape, to freedom obtained only at the cost of life), passes through “La bambina” (an evocative figuration of a dream), “La giostra del cuor” and “Nannannà…” (contemporary snapshots of universal feelings), and finally culminates in the more elaborate “Canto di un Sufi metropolitano”, vaguely reminiscent of a melancholic Battiato, perhaps the most complex song (if complexity is even a topic here) of an album that makes simplicity its strong point.

A recording you wouldn't expect from a self-produced album, one of the best I own, helps reinforce the pathos, with warm, balanced, and minimally effected instruments (mainly acoustic) and voice.

A genre difficult to pinpoint, I would say acoustic rock to give an idea. A melancholic and introspective album, masterfully recorded: tracks that leave scars on the soul, and when silence sets in, hold you in the chair like those masterpiece films that rarely come around. To be listened to again for a lifetime.