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THE REVIEW
It is 1995, and emerging from the fog of Milan's post-punk scene with the Vox Pop label is Manuel Agnelli's ensemble, which had already gained some attention with their English-language productions (recommendation: revisit During Christine's sleep from 1990), but this time in a new lineup featuring Giorgio Prette on drums and Xabier Iriondo on guitar.
The result is the greatest Italian rock album of all time, an absolute paradigm for future generations. A punch in the stomach to the likes of Timoria, Litfiba, and company.
Germi shifts the boundaries of new Italian music with an album that is not Italian at all, infused with blended electric and acoustic sounds with just the right amount of edginess and irony, thanks to a stripped-down production that keeps the electric guitars' sound raw and blistering.
Each individual track contains a small masterpiece like "Dentro Marylin," "Pop," or "Strategie," which will grudgingly become generational anthems sung out loud at concerts.
It is needless to emphasize that live performance is the natural habitat for Afterhours.
Every concert transforms into a little spectacle thanks to the audience's total devotion and some of the band's creative stage antics, like the idea of appearing on stage dressed as little girls, quickly and wisely abandoned before the routine dulled the surprise effect.
The influences you can identify are those of Pixies, Devo, Nirvana, but the true added value of the album, making it unlike anything heard before, is the vocals. Agnelli's nasal and raucous voice sings ironic, violent lyrics inspired by a cut-up that incorporates scandal sheets, official literature, Blixa Bargeld's poetry, and who knows what else.
Many years later, after listening to this album, Dave Grohl would invite M. Agnelli to London to meet him.
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Summary by Bot
Afterhours' 1995 album Germi stands as a pivotal record in Italian rock history, blending raw electric and acoustic sounds with edgy, ironic lyrics. It features standout tracks like "Dentro Marylin" and "Pop," which became generational anthems. The album’s stripped-down production and Manuel Agnelli's distinctive vocals set it apart, influencing future Italian music greatly. Its dynamic live shows cemented the band’s reputation, earning praise from international artists like Dave Grohl.Tracklist Lyrics Videos
Afterhours
Afterhours is an Italian alternative rock band from Milan led by Manuel Agnelli, active since the mid-1980s and widely cited as influential in the Italian indie/alternative scene.52 Reviews
Other reviews
By Bleak
"Germi is their first album in Italian and the first in a long series of small masterpieces."
"The album is a kind of germ that it is impossible to forbid from reproducing in the mind of those who listen to it, a virus you will be happy to be infected by."
By lucarandi80
When I think of this album, the first image that comes to mind is Agnelli harming someone just for the pleasure of doing it.
This is rock in its purest form.
By DDQ
Afterhours can be considered, without remorse, one of the best rock bands in Italian music history.
Music and lyrics manage to almost perfectly alternate moments of wild rock fury with ethereal ballads that are venomous, acidic, never mellifluous or affected.
