Dente
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THE REVIEW

After having ignored him at first listen a few years ago, I’ve been following Giuseppe Peveri, aka Dente, for a while now.

In the end, I think I’ve figured out what is, apart from a voice that is not exactly thrilling, the fake-silly air, and the fact that he’s not exactly a musical revolutionary, his biggest flaw, the flaw that prevents him from having the success he would deserve for the quality of the albums he composes.

He makes difficult things seem easy.

People don’t forgive certain things because, as someone says, in Italy the rule is: "I don’t know how to do it, so neither should you," especially if you have a silly air.

Take the case of this album, sung entirely by himself, played entirely by himself (guitar, drums, bass, keyboards, bells, etc, etc), arranged entirely by himself, as well as clearly composed entirely by himself.

Not everyone can do that.

In short, a fourth-power onanistic act in the form of a music album.

Onanistic also because in more than one interview Dente himself explicitly stated that he composed it with the primary goal of pleasing himself.

Well, at this point I can say that, anyway, we are at least two.

Because I adore the anti-smarmy ones, those who do NOT do everything to please others or to be understood by as many people as possible, in short, to put it mildly, the exact opposite of what his (Dente's) friend Dario Brunori has been driven to do lately.

As a result, this album is almost ignored while the latest by Brunori is considered wonderful by many because it cites, with great originality... Lucio Dalla, and addresses the issue of violence against women or migrants, undoubtedly original and rarely discussed themes these days... although undoubtedly important.

Not Dente, Dente deals with other themes, even going as far as comparing, in one of the best songs on the album ("Noi e il mattino"), the uncritical way we often enjoy the world, without asking ourselves about the true reason of the world and the nature of a possible superior being who created it, to the way in which, in the full HD era, we often chase after and enjoy technological perfection without worrying about the meaning, value, and quality of what television broadcasts to us.

Not bad at all.

Musically speaking, compositionally the quality is always generally high and variety reigns.

From tracks like Belle and Sebastian's "If you are feeling Sinister" ("La rotaia e la campagna") to songs with a Latin feel typical of Tom Waits (but also of a certain De Gregori), a personal idol of good Dente ("L'amore non è bello").

From nursery rhymes with typical Dente's word plays ("Appena ti vedo", "Il padre di mio figlio") to almost jazzy tracks ("Le facce che facevi").

Finally, a judgment on the often criticized incompleteness, also mentioned in the title, of certain tracks ("Curriculum", "Impalcatura", "Fasi lunatiche", two little gems).

In a world where people often talk indiscriminately, they are perfectly fine if the concept and idea to express can be conveyed in a few words.

Finally, the best track: "Ogni tanto torna".

Battisti and Belle and Sebastian (again) embraced, with an existentialist consideration as a not-at-all-banal refrain (learn, Dario).