Bohemians
Be-Out

THE REVIEW

Italian indie has never existed... or almost.

The year was 2002, and even in England, the situation was not thrilling. In the United States, things were perhaps a little better, but even there, it wasn't anything to get too excited about, especially since the Dandy Warhols were already on a downward slope (a very steep one), and there weren't too many Black Rebel Motorcycle Clubs around. But so be it.

As we were saying, Italian indie was something that throughout the '90s was a true mirage, certainly many valid, if not exceptional, bands, but in other musical domains, in other territories... only the last gasps of Gli Sciacalli had picked up the needs, perhaps more of Brit-Pop in the strict sense, than of indie in general, but nothing, nada, niet... nothing. Here, where we are born foreign culture enthusiasts, we didn't even notice. So from the ashes of Gli Sciacalli, the survivor Scanna, after a brief stint with Montefiori Cocktail and Vip 200, embarks on this new project... Bohemians.

The name says a lot, a whole lot, about where it comes from, but the content of this first (and only, sigh) album is truly a compendium of how an indie record should have sounded at the beginning of the new millennium... especially in Italy. The old and the new blend here perfectly, so at times it will seem like you're listening to an unreleased track by Jesus & Mary Chain, Kula Shaker, Oasis, or the aforementioned Dandy Warhols, but with the freshness and intensity of works that, in Albion, were still in the embryonic stage (Arctic Monkeys and Jet above all).

All that's left for you is to find it (it won't be an easy task)... on my behalf, I try to pique your interest by inserting a few seconds of "Hey Girl" that opens the album... then it's up to you.