Levante
Nel caos di stanze stupefacenti

A small preface before starting the actual review: I have absolutely nothing against those artists who, perhaps due to ambitions or simply because they want to expand their audience, make the leap from the independent scene to the mainstream one. Regina Spektor, for instance, has managed it very well, perhaps losing a bit in compositional creativity, but the authorial vein present in her early albums (the self-produced ones recorded in a rather haphazard manner) is the same that can be found in her more recent works, whose only flaw is sometimes an excessively polished production. What does all this have to do with Levante?

Simply put, since the beginning of the year, she has also shown a desire to make much bigger numbers with her music than those that fill clubs, but between an avoidable novel published in January and the collaboration with Fedez and J-Ax in the terrible single “Assenzio,” the premises behind this "leap in quality" weren't exactly encouraging. Even the first single "Non me ne frega niente" was not entirely convincing, not so much for its lyrics or melody (those indeed are still in the style of the Turin singer-songwriter), but for the sounds, commercial and plastic, decidedly far from the more elegant and refined ones of "Abbi cura di te." Fortunately, the complete listening experience of "Nel caos di stanze stupefacenti" brings a sigh of relief: although the peaks of the previous album are far, Levante's new disc is nothing but an honest pop record that changes the garments with which the pieces present themselves (imposing basses and percussions, touches of electro-pop and some synths scattered here and there) but not their melodic and lyrical essence. Levante's writing and composing style has indeed remained intact and works excellently in tracks like the duet with Max Gazzè, practically a guaranteed summer hit and much more pleasant than various "Despacito," or "Io ti maledico" and "Diamante," which benefit just enough from the new sounds embraced by Lagona. It must be said, however, that compared to the past, there are more misses here: tracks like "Le mie mille me" and "Gesù Cristo sono io" are obviously designed for the live dimension (where they work very well, by the way), but on the record, they don't say much, and solutions like the semi-rapped verses of "1996 La stagione del rumore" were definitely avoidable.

However, considering that Levante's goal with this album was clearly to expand her audience, you can't complain too much: the girl still knows how to write good songs and once in a while a bit of laid-back pop, especially if done well as in this case, certainly doesn't hurt. The feared jump into the world of the charts has thus been made and, for now, it seems she has landed well; just as long as, from the next album onward, the ambition to make big numbers doesn't take over: a commercial duet and a lighter record every now and then are fine, just don't let them become a habit!