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Rating: Italian alternative rock from the '90s is starting to age. The pioneers who helped it (partially) emerge from the underground have long surpassed their debut. By some strange coincidence, in this unsettling spring of 2005, Marlene Kuntz and Afterhours release their latest albums. The group from Cuneo managed to recover an artistic vein partially lost with "Senza Peso," creating a great album.
The Afterhours emerged from the masterpiece "Quello Che Non C'è" which redefined the sound and textual path of the group, orphaned by Xabier Iriondo: Psychedelic dilations, more thoughtful lyrics with less cut-up, and a more singer-songwriter attitude and less grunge compared to their beginnings. Through this approach, after three years, after drawing closer to the '70s of Area (with their participation in the film "Lavorare con lentezza" with the song "Gioia e Rivoluzione") and an important friendship like that of Greg Dulli (Afghan Whigs, Twilight Singers), musician and producer, they deliver "Ballate Per Piccole Iene", their fifth studio album, still with Mescal.
The result? I would have liked to sing its praises, but I unfortunately have to admit that this time Manuel Agnelli & company have wrapped the album in a single thread: weariness. Everything sounds heavy, the rhythm has further slowed down, becoming obsessive, devoid of real emotions (except for the first two tracks: "La Sottile Linea Bianca", with an alluring riff and atmosphere, and the single "Ballata Per La Mia Piccola Iena", a slow and obsessive sonic ride with great lyrics, both illusory omens). No trace of irony, already abandoned in "Quello Che Non C'è," which, unlike the latter, is a conglomerate of emotions and great songs. "E La Fine E' La Più Importante" seems like a parody of the group's old soul, which, along with unsettling pop episodes like "Ci Sono Molti Modi" with its keyboard introduction à la Stadio, make these "ballads," an album absolutely to be neglected. Hints of awakening with the '70s-inspired "Chissà Com'è", which recalls PFM with its violin riff by Dario Ciffo, do not contribute to steering the listener away, in this case myself, from a single great sentiment: disappointment.
Guys, Afterhours missed the mark this time. Perhaps I'll change my mind, but for now, this is how it stands.
Still worth seeing live, to judge the tracks calmly, which on the album seem everything but important pieces in an artistic career that, until three years ago, was perfect.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
06 Carne fresca (05:08)
Fai ciò che devi
non guardare mai giù
perchè sei ciò che vedi
se c'è un senso sei tu
E tutto è tranquillo
intorno a te
Sei carne fresca
non so dirti perchè
Ma è dentro te che sei solo
E' dentro te che sei re
Tutto è calmo
intorno a te
Tutto è calmo
intorno a me.
08 Chissà com'è (04:05)
Certo lo so non ho più niente da dire
Nè da rimpiangere o da fallire
Devo solo comprare ormai
Della seta rossa al mio male
Con la quale farlo stare zitto
Sei diventato un fiore alto e disperato
Perché è il tuo modo di gridar che vorrei
Capita di non farcela
Come quando perdi il tuo uomo
O il tuo cane
Chissà chissà com'è
Se è come me è quasi amore
Chissà chissà com'è
Se è come me è quasi amore
Anche il tuo mondo prima o poi invecchierà
Ora sei il verbo che nessuno userà
Capita di non farcela
E di essere il coltello
Ed insieme la ferita
Chissà chissà com'è
Se è come me è quasi amore
Chissà chissà com'è
Se è come me non ha cuore
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Other reviews
By enryka
"The album insinuates itself under the skin, reaches the neuralgic points of the body, and then takes root in the soul."
"Even the sun rises only if it’s convenient."
By Giordyboy1
A five-and-a-half-minute ballad with my heart in my throat and goosebumps.
To those who dreamed of being a rock star and instead find themselves reviewing albums in their bedroom, I say... come back when you’ve written something that resembles this, something that bleeds like this.
By ingenuapupattola
I want to memorize every word, every chord, every distortion of this MASTERPIECE.
Don’t let gloom defeat you. Keep it well in mind.
By Aerith
It’s like breathing stagnant air... but letting yourself be taken by Manuel’s voice... you realize that in that melancholy you feel good after all.
The title track is the perfect synthesis of the album: between rock influences and decidedly darker tracks.
By enkrist1
Ballate per Piccole Iene is a small masterpiece brimming with inventiveness, full of rock insights that would fit well on a tough indie album... certainly not Italian.
They have a strength that strikes, being the only ones in Italy proposing rock worthy of being called by that name.
