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Anticipated by the beautiful video clip of 'Non è per sempre', Afterhours' third effort was released on 31 May '99 and was hailed as a new gem for both the Italian Rock scene and the career of the Milanese band.
Two years earlier, they had already reached their artistic peak with 'Hai Paura Del Buio?', but the album in question merits not being seen as a faded and inappropriate copy of its predecessor; rather, it stands as a different chapter of stylistic intuitions, maintaining the same compositional approach of the group. Manuel Agnelli's words always convey a restless irony thanks to the usual use of narrative cut-up, while the music leans towards a polished and never banal Pop, which favors elegant string arrangements and anticipations of their future signature style. Some might think that Afterhours softened starting with this album, but it has never been the case for them; they never aimed for chart hits or commercial appeal, simply because they have an artist's soul to sell, alongside groups like Marlene Kuntz and Verdena, which constitute the triad of contemporary Italian Rock.
Especially in "Non è per sempre," the aggressive vein of Afterhours remains unaltered, as brilliantly demonstrated by tracks with a fiery impact such as Le verità che ricordavo, Non si esce vivi dagli anni '80 (which warns against the danger of returning to an era of collective superficiality) and L'estate, schizoid and sensual. The experimental urge of the group emerges in Milano circonvallazione esterna, a pseudo-electronic track led by Manuel Agnelli's alarming interpretation, only to be soothed by the bittersweet serenade of the title-track, a reflection on an age that leaves nothing eternal and on the desire for redemption starting with an innocuous "diploma in failure."
The album alternates with fascinating compositions, such as the apocalyptic climax of Oppio, the innocent illusion of Tutto fa un pò male, the sardonic Superenalotto, where the guitars of Agnelli and Xabier Iriondo intertwine with a dizzying crescendo, L'inutilità della puntualità which recalls the most sui generis Battisti, and the melancholic Oceano di gomma, a clear sign of the maturity reached by the group, a dark-hued ballad where old and new Afterhours can be remarkably synthesized. And to finish off with Cose semplici e banali, an exciting track of genuine Rock, endowed with the surprising self-criticism highlighted by the lyrics:
"And if it were us who were wrong, and if it were us who were crazy and sick (...) Thanks to everyone for real, we are at the end and I have lost the beginning, but I have one more sense."
Thank you, Manuel, for the emotions you gift us with every record.
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