Altro
Prodotto

"Every month or so a new one passes by
Forming circles 'round the planets in the air
Find a newspaper and it is printed there"

(Husker Du - "I Tell You Why Tomorrow")

It's useless to deny it, we live in a difficult era.
For example: Spain is economically worse off than we are, and that takes some doing, while Western society has been in decline for a long time.
But what is absurd is that while the world is going to ruins, we are debating records.
We have just come out of a complex and contradictory decade, from various angles of reading, and many are already (speaking of the music industry) engaging in historicization.
They classify, define ideas and syllogisms; they identify musical trends. They talk about scenes.
This eschatological premise to say that amid so much nostalgia for the past, I would like to try to be objective.

I've repeatedly heard rather banal statements and claims, like in the eighties there was more dialogue between the niche and the mainstream, YouTube and new technologies are killing music, and so on, just to add fuel to the fire.
Waves of nostalgic banality to praise the past, as has always been done, whether it be the sixties or the seventies. Denigrating the present to get emotional about an idyllic past is the only legacy we've been carrying for ages.
Even I, in twenty years, might do the same with these notorious noughties, but for now, it's not a problem that concerns me.
We don't care how beautiful things were in the 60s or 80s, we talk about Altro (Other).

Released in 2004 by LoveBoat of the tireless Andrea Pomini, with production by none other than Cristhian Bugatti, this Altro record is much more than a Product. It has nothing to do with "Vede la Fine in me che vendo dischi in questo modo orrendo" that makes Bianconi a little ashamed.
Because the Altro, formed in 1993 in Pesaro, seem to be the result of a handcrafted world, of those who play when they feel like it, do other jobs to support themselves, and collaborate with their friends. I recognize, for example, among the acknowledgments Alessandra Roncata and Luca Valtorta, historic signatures and among my favorites of TuttoMusica.
But aside from this, the important thing is that Altro talks about themselves, but sings about us.

Their music slowly creeps in and tastes of empty parking lots at night on the outskirts.
They excel in "Ipotesi", with that sort of chorus that refuses to be a chorus, and it takes little time to win you over.
The cathartic crescendo in "Minuto" doesn't even have time to give you chills before it’s over, fifty-four seconds.
That driving drum in some passages has the compressed sounds of the one Grant Hart played in '85, recalling Glen Lockett's production.
Gianni Pagnini's bass, soft and disdainful, tastes of new-wave.
The guitar sounds as if it’s using the distortion of the Jesus and Mary Chain, but fortunately without that dreamy overabundance.
It's understated, in the background, sizzles inconsistently, and is like a grater that crumbs personal experiences.
This happens in "Rumba", at the end, with that descending tail that shreds neighborhoods full of memories.
The emotional hit that comes with the riff of "Ripasso" fills you up but has no weight; and then it disappears.
Similar to the chiaroscuro that fills Eduard Vuillard's paintings, the uniform light that crosses this Altro album has the same pleasant intimacy.
Their song form has nothing to do with Haikus, in my opinion, it is miniaturized, not minimalist.
The lyrics, with all the hermeneutic goodwill, are very cryptic, deliberately difficult to understand.
Repetitive and sung with an annoying voice by Baronciani, they show the connection of this trio with the English post-punk of '78: the Wire.
The will to estrange, not to describe or narrate, is the same as that present in the miniatures of "Pink Flag," one of the masterpieces of the English band under the influence of Brian Eno.
For the rest, the similarities with Wire stop here.

The composition of the songs descends from hardcore, and in some cases, a certain repetitiveness that recalls the Cccp.
"Fedeli alla linea, la linea dov'è?"
If Offlaga Disco Pax, like Cccp, sing about the same crisis of political values, for Altro, the link with the Emilian group is through existential alienation.
"Come mai, non lo sai, non mi va se mi chiami" sings Baronciani.
I'll just add that my friend Fiorella said "But in the end, people like Altro because they're Indie", emphasizing this last word, "You're like the indie of -Parla con l'indie- on Facebook".
Maybe she's right, or maybe not; but in doubt, listen to this record, and you'll judge for yourselves.
It's worth it just for the beautiful artwork designed by Baronciani, already an author on the pages of Rumore or for the posters of various editions of "MiAmi," which represent flowers of different shapes.
Thistles, roses, shrubs, all strictly in black and white.
There exists a short circuit that links Adrian Tomine, post-punk, and shoegaze lyricism, they are Altro.