Afterhours
Germi

THE REVIEW

Ok, I confess. I absolutely adore Manuel Agnelli and his very personal creation, Afterhours. I firmly believe that, for the consistency demonstrated over the years in terms of musical and poetic quality - masterpieces in series - Afterhours can be considered, without remorse, one of the best rock bands in Italian music history. (for me, the best, ça va sans dire)

"Germi" (1995) is just the first chapter (in Italian) of the saga. Before reaching this album, Manuel and his associates had already accumulated a decent amount of experience and excellent feedback from industry critics, even internationally. In their homeland, however, if we consider actual success, little or nothing, the English language did not aid the band's emergence just as the musical context, probably, was not yet ready for that type of sound. A decent change of course occurred precisely with this work: out with English, in with Italian. Thus, also somewhat as a “personal challenge.”

From the album emerges the urgency to communicate, the desire for freedom, the experimental, iconoclastic, and innovative drive of the band. It was time to blow away the piles of dust accumulated over years and years on the Italian music scene. The result achieved, in my opinion, is overwhelming. Music and lyrics, elaborated, especially the latter, through the interesting technique of cut-up (of Dadaist lineage), manage to almost perfectly alternate moments of wild rock fury, direct like a punch in the face (the title track "Germi" is emblematic in this regard) with ethereal "ballads" that are venomous, acidic, never mellifluous or affected (like "Dentro Marilyn," later revisited by a certain Mina, not exactly a newcomer... what a testament of esteem!). The use of cut-up also gives a certain depth and peculiarity to the album both in terms of the author's text processing technique, based on abandoning the canons, linguistic cages, and on the freedom of expression of the unconscious and instinct, and in terms of the listener's experience of the album itself (texts and music allow the listener the opportunity to freely use their own imagination for interpretation).
We could say that, thanks to this album, Afterhours were, in some way, among the promoters of the semi-cultural revolution that occurred in the '90s in our Bel Paese. Essentially, they managed to transfer onto our music scene some of the artistic and aesthetic canons that were widespread, especially in the United States and particularly appreciated by them. The band's longevity and the success they achieved starting from their subsequent album (“Hai Paura del Buio?”) completed the work.
And then... should I say it? Yes, I’ll say it. In my opinion, Afterhours played a major—indeed, I’d say fundamental—role in the evolution of Italian songwriting. The aim of Manuel Agnelli, in a certain sense, was precisely this: to create a breaking point in the Italian music scene.
Strong words, but heartfelt.
...and to think that many came to know Manuel and company thanks to X-Factor.
Life is truly strange…