Elio e Le Storie Tese
Studentessi

Elio e le storie tese, at least for me, are among the most talented Italian artists, also on a technical level. If one goes beyond the nonsensical lyrics, they can understand the skill of this group.

Studentessi arrives a week before their debut at the Dopofestival (which promises to be great), and 5 years after "Cicciput," which turned out to be an excellent album offering gems like "Shpalman" or "Fossi Figo", which stand proudly with the great classics of Elio and his fellows. In these five years, the group toured all over Italy, and last year they included "Parco Sempione", the first single from this album, in their concerts, with a stunning video that I recommend everyone to watch (the mere presence of Maccio Capatonda and Co should persuade you to watch it.)

"Studentessi" was released on February 20 both in record stores and newsstands alongside Repubblica and L'Espresso. The booklet contains the themes of the songs and not the lyrics, oddly enough. But let's talk about the album.

After the intro "Studentessi", taken from a movie (though I don't know which one honestly), we move on to "Plafone", featuring the first guest star, Antonella Ruggero. The first two minutes of the song seem to be taken from any Pink Floyd piece. This song is about a tenant in a building who loves to sing in the shower, but suddenly the shower breaks, and everything floods. A very nice piece, especially for the long introduction that showcases the group's technical prowess.

A DJ introduces us to "Ignudo tra i Nudisti", a piece about a couple that is undecided on what to do. While the man (Elio) wants to go to a nudist beach, the woman (Giorgia, the second guest star) wants to go to the mountains. A summer-toned piece, with Elio having a voice that is practically impossible to describe. It could be the summer single, it would be very fitting. After the piece, Maurizio Crozza tells us that the alarm raised in Cicciput regarding Tuscany and the stones has been withdrawn, indeed... "Tristezza", despite its title, is a piece with cheerful music. With this piece, it wants to convey that sadness is not a bad feeling, but rather it is very beautiful, and many have used it with reason. For instance, it points out that Gino Paoli with his pessimism created an entire empire (named "Empire of Gino Paoli"). Finally, for the first time in this piece, the vocoder is used, an instrument very dear to the group. The atmosphere is very 60s. To be honest, I didn't like it that much, but I promise to listen to it live.

"Effetto Memoria (Inverno)" is the first of four moments reserved for memory. In this case, Elio recalls a thing from his childhood, but to do so, he forgets the present. Note the "official method for remembering things". Carla Fracci introduces us to "Heavy Samba". Classic Brazilian atmosphere, it seems like an authentic samba piece, at least initially. Then it is noted that with this Brazilian whine nothing is achieved, and Irene Grandi complains because she doesn't know the person in front, and amidst all this the piece turns rock. With the guy complaining about the mess. Imagine all this in Elio's magical world. Cesareo indulges in a really remarkable solo, once again proving his skill. After a little more than halfway through the song, it transforms back into a more "soft" version, while Rocco Tanica does a chorus that I think will be sung live by everyone. Definitely one of the pieces that struck me the most. After an incomprehensible piece (I think it's Japanese), Grandi's guy starts singing the chorus of "Heavy Samba".

A piece (so fake it seems authentic) taken from "Amici di Maria de Filippi" leads us to "Gargaroz", whose motif is from the Cynar commercial with the Elii. Here the vocoder reigns supreme, while Elio talks about when his tonsils were removed, and the great nonsense of ice cream as an anesthetic. A really nice piece, in Elio's full style. An advertisement of a butcher (!!!) guides us to "Suicidio a Sorpresa", a moment structured into 5 movements (yes, you read that right), namely Allegro, Allegretto, Andante Con Moto, Allegro, Allegretto. This piece, featuring Paola Cortellesi (a woman I love, let me say it), talks about metal bands over-commercializing themselves (a topic all metalheads have at least talked about once). Then it discusses the famous equation Metal = Demonio ("Everyone knows that listening to metal backward/ they will discover messages that when listened to backward/are the same as the beautiful metal you had before you flipped them"), suggesting that listening to black metal backward exudes optimism. Elio then ventures into a growl singing a love song, to show that backward it's all full of love. All of this in "Trio Lescano" style. Simply Genius.

"Effetto Memoria (Primavera)" describes Elio who doesn't remember what he spoke about a little while ago. Claudio Bisio (in Celentano style) introduces us to "La Lega dell'Amore", in which he duets with Elio singing about a desire to create a party dedicated to love (where have I heard this speech before?), all while citing pieces of Celentano. And make sure you join or else we will tell mom! A really excellent piece, destined to enter (with lots of love, of course) the hearts of us fans... "Indiani (A Caval Donando)" talks about Cowboys wanting to make amends for their wrongdoings by gifting things to the Indians. But they don't accept them.

"Effetto Memoria (Estate)" sees the entrance of Claudio Baglioni in this "saga", where he tells us memories of his future. "Supermassiccio" (with commentary by Guido Meda) sees Earth threatened by a black hole "that eats everything", ignored by everyone. In the end, after having eaten us, we find ourselves in a world ruled by fleas. A really great piece, and I won’t reveal what the protagonist will do to earn it. A call from an employee of Hollywood leads us to "La risposta dell'Architetto", in which the legendary Mangoni sings, rhythm of rap, going against him, his family's values, and the effort of his work (since he really is an Architect). The lyrics are good, too bad the music doesn’t match up. "Parco Sempione", the first single, talks about the invasion of Fricchettoni with bongos (also known as punkabbestia), with time-out music, and with them missing every note. In reality, it’s all a pretext to talk about Milan and the administration that's ruining it. A really beautiful song, among the best on the album. "Il congresso delle parti molli" is a classic nonsensical piece in the group's style. It talks about a congress in our body of the soft parts (the useless ones) that want to rebel against the more important parts. And it’s discovered that in elections to find the new most important body organ in our body, the winner is the one that is part of the "Bucchino delle Libertà", guess which one? A great piece, destined to become a classic, I'm sure.

"Single", as the booklet states, is a piece for a 1997 radio show, sung by Feiez, a member who passed away in 1998 of the group, and by Luigi Piloni, which talks about the life of a single person. A really excellent piece, who knows if it will be sung live.

The album concludes with "Effetto Memoria (Autunno)", the closing piece of this "saga", with Baglioni again on vocals, who wants to tell us something, but has a memory gap. Listen to the piece all the way through!

In conclusion, we find ourselves with a really excellent album, carrying on the excellent legacy of "Cicciput" and managing to maintain it intact. An album recommended both to die-hard fans of the group and to those wanting to get closer to this group to understand its characteristics. Buy it, after all, it's only €14.90 ;).