883
Hanno ucciso l'Uomo Ragno

THE REVIEW

Sometimes, all you really need to do is truly understand how a work comes to life. Then you can savor the work itself.

And that's basically what you need to do with 883. They were two guys, kind of normal and kind of dumbasses, but just regular guys. They weren't American OGs who spent their days dealing and shooting at cops, they weren't Norwegians burning churches, they weren't pissed-off skinheads, sons of underpaid workers. Normal guys. Kind of dumbasses. But then again, aren't we all?

These normal guys, however, had an intuition. Some will turn up their noses: that intuition was pure genius. We take it for granted now, trap, indie… I happened to come across a lyric by Pinguini Tattici Nucleari, whose value is not up for discussion here, and I realized something: their greatest quality, as I saw it, was that their lyrics were authentic. And that's where 883 set the standard. With a quality that maybe got lost over time: authenticity marked several movements, from 883 to punk, passing through the various branches of rock in the broad sense, but 883 applied it to the everyday life of young people; which, in the end, isn't normal at all—it's so normal that it goes full circle and becomes incredible. Clearly, the authenticity of 883 wasn’t the extreme kind you get from Skruigners or the drunk kind of the Pogues, because it isn’t mediated by the artistic phase that defines those two bands, or many others. The great quality, maybe lost over time, is that in their situation these guys had “cazzimma” (gumption). That the average pop listener doesn’t realize this when listening to 883 is another story. So yes, someone will tell me a cigar is just a cigar: but hell, this is the best cigar you can possibly smoke.

People who know me know I’m "team-Nord sud ovest est", but even the tracks on this debut are amazing. "Non me la menare" has a cocky stride that mixes incredibly catchy sounds with lyrics that were a manifesto of nonconformity. "S'inkazza" was more rock and showed that Max and his partner had listened to plenty of Guns n' Roses and Metallica; the arrangement even vaguely recalls "Rock Box" by Run DMC, emphasizing the group’s hip-hop roots. "6/1/sfigato" and "Te la tiri" tone down the album, essentially spinning the same melodies but not quite hitting the mark 100%, while still keeping the witty lyrics that smoothly lead to the phenomenal four-of-a-kind that closes the album and forms its real backbone. The title track hits with a perfect lyric, melancholic yet vibrant, "Con un deca" has an underlying sadness that finds its resolve in a brilliant saxophone riff, "Jolly blue" has a live-chorus hook worthy of the best Bon Jovi (with different production, of course...) and "Lasciati toccare" closes with its alluring atmosphere, even if it’s not the best track on the record.

The duo may have their own style that’s a bit repetitive, but certainly very personal, with Max Pezzali’s voice and his way of using it being anything but obvious. The authenticity of the album’s lyrics is definitely a strong point, even if I have to admit that, at the start of their career, 883 hadn’t quite mastered this potential yet, occasionally ending up with some lyrics that were a bit too steeped — let’s say it like that — in the youth slang of their time.

The energy that defines 883 is unique. I think, for example, it’s shown by how easily the tracks can be rearranged into much heavier productions, something made clear by the 666 project, put together by the members of Plakkaggio, who reinterpret Pezzali and Repetto’s work in an Oi! style, with immortal lines like "assoli troppo belli per la musica Oi!" or "passano gli anni alternativa non c’è: ancora fieni metallari skinhead!" (I challenge 883 fans to figure out where those lines come from). What I mean is, it’s as clear as day that the duo’s aim was to create tracks that teenagers could sing their hearts out to, in a real, powerful, genuine way, with energy pouring from every pore. And those who listen carefully will notice that early 883 had a quite enviable knack for arrangements and for mixing multiple genres—between vocals, backing vocals, keyboards, heavy guitars, and percussion.

Shed every prejudice you have about 883 and let yourself be won over. Score: 86/100.