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Rating: The Chrisma of the late Maurizio Arcieri (1942-2015) and Christine Moser were the first in Italy to embrace the transgressive elements of punk music: after the Beat experiences with the New Dada and a solo album straddling singer-songwriter style and progressive – “Trasparenze” (1973) - the Milanese artist moved to London to capture the birth of new musical movements: the context he found himself in would not fail to influence and give him new ideas. In fact, the debut "Chinese Restaurant" (1977), characterized by an experimental rock that takes lessons from the Velvet Underground, goes beyond punk and embraces Central European influences. Arcieri clearly shows he was ahead of his time in Italy: a concert of his in Reggiolo where he cuts his finger in response to the audience's provocations will make history.
"Hibernation" (1979), on the other hand, is oriented towards a frosty electronic sound: it is a sound blossomed from ice that owes much to the more romantic Kraftwerk. Like its predecessor, the album is produced by Vangelis' brother (Niko Papathanassiou) and presents with a very refined cover by Mario Convertino. “Aurora B” is indisputably the album's highlight, filled with a decadent atmosphere from which a video-clip was also made: it is distinguished by Christine Moser's erotic voice, which also characterizes the excellent "We R.".
"Vetra Platz" is another peak of the album: a long electronic ride worthy of the best Kraftwerk that narrates life unfolding in this famous square in Milan. Also noteworthy are the compelling "Calling" and "Gott Gott Electron", tracks marked by an explosive post-punk fury and the sexy-song "Lover" with once again Moser's seductive voice in the spotlight.
They were labeled as Nazis by the then young leftist audience due to their look and martial sound, something entirely false that alienated them many sympathies. The Italian record industry's narrow-mindedness was another factor that penalized their career. Maurizio Arcieri nevertheless always had great courage and always managed to stay afloat in a record industry dominated by sharks. The recent CD reissues of their early works, excluding for incomprehensible reasons "Clandenstine Anticipation", should serve as an incentive to bring the new generations listening to new Italian indie-rock closer to their music.
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By miramar
The track 'Lola' alone is worth the listen of the entire album; it is carried forward like a romantic tango that precedes the fall into the abyss of an entire world.
A record that resonates with a depression not too dissimilar to that of Joy Division and a theme intertwining love/sex and death with a taste for experimentation and absorbing genres.
