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Rating: I waited to buy it so that I could watch the single, and I waited to review it until I could do so with a clear mind. Finally, the third CD from Baustelle. I have great respect for the group led by Francesco Bianconi and Rachele Bastrenghi for their approach to the music business and their courage to tackle a dangerous genre like pop (we’re talking about people like Beatles Beach Boys Smiths Blur...). Each of their releases generates a lot of excitement not only among their admirers but also among their detractors who follow them just to criticize them with each new album.
After the small pop encyclopedia for the Italian dandy that was “Sussidiario illustrato della giovinezza” and the elegant aesthetic decadence of “La moda del lento,” here comes “La malavita.” An album both musically and poetically darker and harder. The instrumental intro "Cronaca nera" and the single "La guerra è finita" introduce a world of disappointments of wrong and wasted lives with a sound reminiscent of the New York new-wave that danced drinking and banging heads to the rhythm of Television and the Patti Smith Group. In particular, "La guerra è finita" closely recalls the tight melancholy of Tom Verlaine’s group in tracks like Torn Curtain and Venus. "Revolver" links back to the cinematic "Il seno" contained in "La moda del lento," but the aesthetic contemplation is also musically replaced by a disenchanted, disillusioned, and criminal look at life: a carpet of pressing electronic sounds (the bass is marvelously handled) supports Rachele’s sung-spoken text, but enchanting is the small trumpet solo that introduces an extremely lyrical moment for the voice and synth, abruptly interrupted by a distorted drum. Fantastic. The following "I provinciali" looks at life in the suburban bourgeois areas on a sunny autumn afternoon and shoegazing. "Il corvo Joe" is a magnificent portrait filled with wonder, amazement, and anger. "Mamma, che ne dici di un romantico a Milano?" Damn! One of those tracks that alone are worth the price of the CD! If the whole album refers to the dark Byronian awareness of the "Stanze ad Augusta" of having built around oneself the imposing armor of a cult figure, this song lightens the mood with huge doses of irony because deep down "quando il dandy muore fuori nasce un fiore"... "Perché una ragazza d'oggi può uccidersi" is also a great song, delicate and cruel as only a great band can compose.
I would have ended the album here because the last two tracks are really off-focus but oh well... As the third effort and the first for a major label, it is an excellent work that confirms Baustelle as the best Italian band of the moment without a shadow of a doubt.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
07 Un romantico a Milano (03:51)
Mamma
che ne dici di un romantico a Milano?
fra i Manzoni preferisco quello vero:Piero
Leggi
c'è un maniaco sul 'Corriere della Sera'
la sua mano per la zingara di Brera
è nera
Fuggi
cosa fuggi non c'è modo di scappare
ho la febbre ma ti porto fuori a bere
non è niente stai tranquilla è solo il cuore
porta ticinese piove ma c'è il sole
quando il dandy muore fuore nasce un fiore
le ragazze fan la file per vedere
la sua tomba con su scritte le parole
"io vi amo
vi amo ma vi odio però
vi amo tutti
è bello è brutto io non lo so
io vi amo
vi amo ma vi odio però
vi amo tutti
è bello è brutto è solo questo"
Scusi
che ne pensa di un romantico alla Scala?
quando canta le canzoni della mala scola
quasi centomila Montenegro e Bloody Mary
mocassini gialli e sentimenti chiaro-scuri
Cara
scriverà sulle tovaglie dei Navigli
quanta gioia, quanti giorni, quanti sbagli
quanto freddo nei polmoni
che dolore
non è niente non è niente
lascia stare
se la Madonnina muore nasce un fiore
lui non vuole che la sua ragazza legga
quelle frasi incise quelle frasi amare
la sua tomba con su scritte le parole
"io vi amo
vi amo ma vi odio però
vi amo tutti
è bello è brutto io non lo so
io vi amo
vi amo ma vi odio però
vi amo tutti
è bello è brutto è un giglio marcio
io vi amo
vi amo ma vi sputo però
vi amo tutti
è bello è brutto è solo questo"
L'erba ti fa male se la fumi senza stile!
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Other reviews
By Lazzaroblu
Baustelle create valuable, substantial pop music where the lyrics are significant, at times harsh, necessary, never banal.
'La malavita' is a passionate reaction to conformity, to a brutal vulgarity, a child of development but not of progress.
By Enrico Martello
"Grass hurts you if you smoke it without style"... My God! How can you not fall in love with someone who says something like that.
We thank every single rejection because it brought about a work that is something new but also reveals reminiscences belonging to the great songwriters of the ’70s-’80s.
By Torre Ste
The lyrics, which talk about the underworld in all its forms and facets, are poetic, committed, melodic, and literary.
"Perché una ragazza d’oggi può uccidersi?", capable of captivating you and making you realize that this is a great band.
By EricJude
I watch it from start to finish, mesmerized, the melody is perfect, Bianconi’s voice as well, plus add that stunning girl who is Rachele Bastreghi.
Soft, delicate but also dark and shamelessly true. They don’t indulge in chatter and syrupiness like Ramazzotti, nor in screams and explosions of anger like Hard Rock, they are simple.
By Taurus
"Baustelle’s style is very elegant and orchestral pop-rock, full of cultured references."
"Ten songs that are ten frescoes, each with a story or character behind it and as many scenarios."
