Gli Ebrei
Disagiami

Behind the lo-fi style, sometimes, lies a deficiency in terms of music production. And unfortunately, this is the case with "Disagiami," the second work by Gli Ebrei. Instruments too detached from each other, voice volume too low making it difficult to hear the lyrics (something that happens too often in emerging Italian music), excessive vocal effects that hide the vocalist's timbre.

"Disagiami" is thematically divided into two areas: the area of social discomfort and that of personal discomfort. The former musically connects to the CCCP tradition, the latter to the Caniana tradition (meaning I Cani, of course). 

PLAY

"Opportunità" is pure urban sadness in a lo-fi sauce. It begins with a very rhythmic start, a pause by detuned instruments bridge to silence, and then... anger. This latter part is the least successful of the track. "You will find yourself in another place that will equally tire you" they sing, and indeed the second track, the title track "Disagiami", dispenses an interesting hypnotic start with a vaguely underground feel (in the Velvet sense) with a didactic "take a stroll downtown, reject immigrants". A pity, because the next verse, vaguely surreal, works..."make animals explode". The CCCP influence is felt, and too much. The sensation -from the lyrics and the singing- is of cliché, there is no perceived genuine interest in the social-psychological themes of being "discomforted" but a mere mannerist attitude. Probably Disagiami is the least successful track on the EP.

Fortunately, Gli Ebrei change gears in the first truly interesting track of the EP, "Strage di Pasqua". A simple little rock tune (perhaps too simple) serves as the base for a small love story that ends with a funny epilogue: "like that time we waited for the train, you moved aside, and I got hit full on". There is a feeling of greater sincerity and authenticity in personal discomforts rather than social ones. And indeed, unfortunately, "Scatola nera" returns to the atmospheres of the EP's first two tracks. A very dirty, angry, and noisy punk (with echoes of Agnelliana memory) that hides a fairly evident compositional void. The avoidable (and annoying) final guitar solo closes a decidedly bad piece. The "instrumental" gives the listener a breather: in its simplicity, the track flows smoothly but raises a doubt: why? And, finally, a final blow... "I miei vicini" picks up the atmospheres of Strage di Pasqua: "I'm not running away, how banal it is to leave here". And indeed Gli Ebrei should not run away from the simpler love songs, because those are the ones that work best. A catchy and engaging song that closes on a balcony, watching "the city's autumn and my neighbors who never greet".

At the end of the listen, I'm perplexed. Because despite the dirty, poorly crafted sound (which I can't define as "lo-fi"), despite the feeling of "already heard," despite some obvious compositional limits (which poorly hide behind the short duration of the songs), there's something in these Gli Ebrei that at times works. They hide, perhaps out of fear, perhaps out of shyness, perhaps because they don't even believe it themselves. I don't know. But the genuine irony of some lyrics and the pop touches of Strage di Pasqua and I miei vicini make me hopeful for their future.