Angelina Mango
Poké melodrama

Angelina Mango is one of the most promising artists in the Italian music scene, and this statement, in my opinion, can hardly be contested.

Daughter of the never-too-celebrated Pino Mango and singer Laura Valente, Angelina has stood out from the beginning for her undeniable talent and unique style, capable of blending international influences (such as reggaeton and the music of Rosalía, etc...) with a Mediterranean touch ensured not only by her Lucanian origins but also by her love for Naples expressed through a recurring use of phrases from the vibrant Neapolitan dialect (the single "Che t'o dico a fa'" is a good example of this preference).

Her victory at Sanremo with the excellent "La noia", produced by the ubiquitous Dardust, has created further expectations for her solo debut, released on May 31 of this year and titled Poké melodrama (poké, for those who don't know, is a typical one-dish meal from Hawaiian cuisine, consumed especially by those who are particularly figure-conscious and thus not by me).

The pleasure I felt reading about the album's release was matched by a certain disappointment when listening to it because Poké melodrama, despite containing appreciable moments, is an album that doesn't fully deliver on all its promises and partially disappoints expectations.

Let's be clear: Angelina is not merely a pinup girl; she has training that makes her a genuine musician (she plays piano and percussion) and, above all, a singer-songwriter, even if she is assisted by others in the composition of the songs.

A high-level team of producers, composed, among others, of Dardust himself and Zef (a well-known name to anyone familiar with the Italian hip-hop scene), provides the backdrops that accompany her on her journey, from sometimes more urban sounds (as in the case of "Melodrama", "Crush", or the concluding "Another World"), to occasionally ethnic sounds (it's hard not to mention the captivating "Che t'o dico a fa'", with that chorus that relentlessly gets stuck in your head) or soft, akin to classical Italian melody (the piano in the suspended "Edmund & Lucy").

There should also be a mention of the lyrics, which delve into various topics: they range from love songs to more frivolous ones, without neglecting pieces with an intimate cut, where the protagonist is not afraid to describe her uncertainties, her anxieties, highlighting doubts and vulnerabilities shared by many young people of her generation.

The ingredients, in short, seem tasty, but as mentioned earlier, not everything goes smoothly.

In fact, the first part contains the best moments, where the synergy between words, music, and melodies is undoubtedly more successful. There's no need to get lost in a soporific track-by-track, just remember "La noia", a contemporary, engaging cumbia that tackles the delicate theme of depression, from which, according to the singer, a joyful and unexpected rebirth can arise.

In the middle of the lineup, very short tracks follow one after another without leaving a mark. Personally, I found the slower and more melodic ones, such as "Edmund & Lucy", a tear-jerking revision of the relationship with her brother Filippo (co-author of the lyrics), which might drive the more impatient listeners to skip decisively.

The main issue with Poké melodrama is precisely the heterogeneity of the sound, a characteristic of some current releases that, in my opinion, does not pay off much. On the contrary, if Angelina had chosen a path and followed it to the end, the results would have been, if not excellent, without a doubt better.

Not coincidentally, the level rises towards the end, thanks to the final flourish ensured by "Che t'o dico a fa'", a fresh piece that smells of sun, sea spray, and noisy alleys, and by "Another World", an atmospheric reggaeton enriched by the presence of rapper VillaBanks.

On the collaboration front, Bresh does not shine in "Diamoci una tregua" and Dani Faiv in the lively "Invece sì", while "Uguale a me", a duet with the talented Marco Mengoni, seems successful, oscillating between autotune, international electronic sounds, and a more Italian chorus (which, put this way, sounds a bit like Stanis La Rochelle in Boris, but oh well...).

In conclusion, we can say that we are facing a respectable but imperfect project, from which perhaps more courage and a more homogeneous sound were expected, the result of a single producer's work rather than such a large team.

Certainly, Angelina has youth on her side and great potential for improvement, yet the recipe for Poké melodrama leaves us slightly unsatisfied, much like the noted Hawaiian dish, dietetic and rich in ingredients, but dramatically defeated when compared to a more satisfying pan of Bolognese lasagna.

Try it to believe it.