La Sintesi
L'Eroe Romantico

As I eagerly await Lele Battista's solo debut, set to release this year, it's worth discussing the work of his recently disbanded group, which has left behind two wonderful albums. In these albums, the love for Battiato, Battisti, Duran Duran, and a certain dark-wave infused Anglo-Saxon rock emerges from every angle.

After winning several emerging music competitions, La Sintesi, hailing from the Milanese hinterland: Lele Battista (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Giorgio Mastrocola (guitar), and the Sabella brothers, Giuse (bass) and Michelino (drums), debuted in the summer of 1999 with "L'Eroe Romantico". The production by Morgan is a powerful presence that leaves its mark on every track of the album.

Love and its facets, such as insecurity in relationships, indifference, and rejection are the main backdrops that characterize Lele's decadent lyrics, fitting perfectly between the Cure and Baudelaire in pieces like "L'abbraccio", a delicate piano riff torn by a distorted bass; the single "tempo alle mie voglie", a track driven by the rhythm section, with smart and not overdone guitar interventions (as taught by the new wave), and the Tench-like "Versoperverso", the first to cite Tenco in a futuristic rather than present key with the verses (I will fall in love with you, I have nothing better to do). The rhythm heightens when influences like U2 appear, as in the effect-laden guitars à la The Edge in "Curiosità" and "Nero".
The work closes with the delicate "Fine millennio", a very Battiato+Morgan-like text, sister to Bluvertigo's "Punto di non arrivo," the dramatic closure of "Zero," where the fear for the new millennium is seen solely as human construct.

A refined, intelligent, and tasteful album that will certainly appeal to lovers of rainy and romantic atmospheres. They have been replaced by Il Nucleo, who, despite having similar settings, have not achieved the same excellent results.