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Rating: How much joy this group manages to bring me.
And to think that this is a crappy world. A world created by the powerful, where there's truly little (or nothing) to smile about. Once it's the Bush administration. Another time it's the tensions between the Pope and Turkey. Then there's the nuclear tests of North Korea. And, just for good measure, a greenhouse effect that's progressively cooking us all. The instinctive thing a sane person would do is take a nice rifle and blow their throat away properly. And yet, there are still those who want to smile and, more importantly, what makes the difference, what breaks the stereotype of a selfish person in seconds, make others smile.
The spirit of kindergarten children is pure, clear, and incorruptible. Maybe it's because they're little, maybe because they still don't know the traps of this (old?) beautiful world, but the certain thing is that they always have a big smile plastered on their little faces. Something that adults often and willingly don't have the time or the desire to do. Yet, how nice it would be to pause for a moment, distract ourselves from the hectic pace of our lives, close our eyes and stop to think. Think if we're living life the right way. Think if we really want to live it in the right way. And then, act accordingly. It would be a better world for everyone but, unfortunately, there's no time for these little and futile things, almost unbearable, boring, and wordy. But there are exceptions. There's those who, looking back, have decided to tell life's pessimism to go to hell. They've decided to reject the lifestyles that have been followed up to that moment, rigid and outdated ones. And, instead of shaving their head bald, or letting it grow in an unbelievable way and grabbing a beautiful V-cut guitar to make people's eardrums succumb with solos, they decided to pause. Suspend the hands of time. And rewind them ten, fifteen, twenty years back. To bring joy and a desire to live.
Lately, it really seems like time has stopped for some people. First came the Architecture In Helsinki, a group of eight people who use a lot of instruments to produce various noises and loud sounds in a sea of lightheartedness. And that, despite the name, are not from cold Finland, but from warm Melbourne, Australia. Now it's the turn of these people here. I'm From Barcelona. I come from Barcelona. Again, the name is illusory: these guys probably saw Barcelona on a postcard, at most they might have been there on vacation, because their homeland is Sweden (they're all from Gothenburg). But how strange, the warmth really seems like that of Barcelona. And, how strange, they don't follow the footsteps of Architecture In Helsinki. For what? Well, for two points: the first is the musical aspect, decidedly more cheerful than that of the Australian octet. The second? Hmpf. I feel like smiling already, because you probably won't believe it (or won't want to believe it), but this is not just any group. It overshoots any group archetype you have in mind. Because, ladies and gentlemen, this is not properly a group, but a collective. A collective of thirty people. Thirty people who sing. Thirty people, each holding a different instrument from their companion. Thirty people, assisted by the mustached Emanuel Lundgren, who have one purpose in life: to spread joy.
It might sound a bit repetitive perhaps, since I've said it who knows how many times, but I can't find a more suitable noun to summarize this collective. A noun that is simple and layered at the same time. And to say it all began by chance, as usually happens in the vast majority of cases, as usually happens for great bands. It all starts in the summer of 2005, when good Lundgren, having written a couple of songs, decides to put together a band to play them live at some parties. But evidently, the idea appeals much more than to just a couple of people. Add one, take another away, then put it back, come on, let's let her participate. In the end, twenty-nine people, excluding Lundgren, participate in this unlikely project. There's who's playing the guitar, who's playing the accordion, who's playing the kazoo, who's playing the flute, who's playing the banjo, who's playing the keyboard, who's playing the trumpet, who's playing the drums. In theory, this big family should disband after some appearances. However, there are those who don't think so, I'm From Barcelona achieve great public success, so much so that Lundgren creates a personal site from which, in just over a week, more than twenty thousand people download their tracks. From here to recording an album (with the exception of an EP called "Don't Give Up On Your Dreams, Buddy!" mid-way), it's truly a short step.
Sometimes words fail. What to say about this debut? Is it a complex album, full of twists and turns, difficult to assimilate at first listen? Absolutely not, if anything it's quite the opposite. But in its extreme simplicity, in its extreme freshness (sometimes it almost seems recorded by the Piccolo Coro Mariele Ventre!), it conquers like no other. And it puts an enormous grin on your face that saying it's huge is an understatement. The collective has at the base of everything a sound inspired by the '60s. Then glimpses of folk and country are inserted, as evidenced by the delightful "Chicken Pox" (P.S. chickenpox in Italian :-D), where the guitar intro is mixed with little choruses, whistles, and anything else that can refer to the countryside. Or they reaffirm, through soft keyboards and the most joyful guitars possible, the false origins of the group (the official single "We're From Barcelona"), a true anthem of joy that often includes all the members of the group in a carefree singing (and the listener, already captivated and bewildered, singing along blissfully "na-na-na-na-na-na-na"). If you wish, the guys will place a potential hit in which they once again sing all their love for Barcelona ("Barcelona Loves You") to a band rhythm (combined action of drums, guitar, percussion, and banjo) with choruses in the style of Zecchino d'Oro in the background, almost to emphasize the perfect unity between them and with the listeners. If you really feel it missing, I'm From Barcelona puts a song halfway between oriental atmospheres, bells, keyboards, and choruses, the kind that are sung after a mountain hike or at night on the beach, around the bonfire, all together ("Treehouse"), with a catchy chorus like "I have built a treehouse!". Of course, there are also occasional strokes of genius, which alternate these little joyful songs with already more mature moments, like when in "Ola Kala" it seems they want to explore vaguely punk territories, hardening the guitar backgrounds a bit, or when in "Collection Of Stamps" they give us an extraordinary intro, with a mix of drums, kazoo, and trumpet.
Many people have labeled these guys as "not very serious," "meteors," some have even called them "slackers." Yes, yes, let them talk, those boring critics, who know everything and can do everything, and who don't know how to grasp the beauty of a flower blooming in spring, or the song of the little birds in the trees, and who belong to the people who don't know how to travel back in time and dive into a fantastic world full of magic. Labeling, labeling, and labeling, the whole world in a label, and then you don't even notice how badly you're doing. These Swedes, in my opinion, will go far: they have already shown in this album that they can be philosophers in the little things, to entertain with essential melodies, to invite the world to ignore negativity, to leave behind those who aspire to the annihilation of the globe. They don't rely on looks: both the boys and girls within the collective have glasses (quite thick ones too), they're not very good-looking, they have crooked teeth, but they are full of irony and joy.
So: do you really want to continue searching for sophistication, rarities, when you can count on a simple and at the same time high-quality product? Think about it: I highly recommend purchasing this album, I found it to be a real ray of sunshine breaking through stormy clouds. And, if you want an extra tip, this is what I'm From Barcelona say about themselves:
"...we are I'm From Barcelona/ love is a feeling we don't understand/ but we will gladly give it all to you"
Until next time. Requiem.
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