Litfiba
17 Re

THE REVIEW

17 RE

There exist in multiple creative paths, not only musical but linked to the most varied creative expressions (visual, philosophical, cinematic) zeniths.

Namely, peaks of inspiration that once reached, create indelible milestones of comparison difficult to surpass and difficult for the authors themselves to match, who have crystallized the work. It is no coincidence that this zenith is often reached by young minds, still strongly ignited by the pure act of passionate creativity and an absolutely uncontaminated desire for expression. It is no coincidence that 17 Re was conceived by the minds of five youngsters, not even adults yet. The zenith in this case is a never again achieved (neither before nor after) alchemy of thoughts, images, and sounds of total beauty and complete freedom.

These Litfiba, organize a complex palette of atmospheres and suggestions with highly projective and coherent modes. This alone is enough to earn applause for five boys who only a few years earlier were channeling their sound input into chaos. These grooves go well beyond the new wave that had inadvertently marked the Litfiba beginnings to coin new formulas of musical experimentation, often in "non-rock" architectures. And this is one of the album's greatest merits, namely that of developing according to unexpected morphogenetic codes and totally unpredictable ones. The quintet's zenith produces an ambitious and multifaceted journey opened by the dark and furious incipit of the splendid Resta and closed by the dramatic hypnotic and expressionist sense of Ferito.

An Alpha and an Omega between which expanded, rarefied yet sophisticated atmospheres (Febbre, Univers), daring but totally successful ethno/sonic contaminations where seeds of French chanson, Mediterranean and/or Oriental traditions are grafted (Pierrot e la luna, Tango, Oro nero), pursuit of dissonance that through avant-garde schemes produce raw emotion surpassing in ambition and result the esteemed English ensembles (Gira nel mio cerchio, Cane, the already mentioned Ferito), marble proof of unassailable stylistic/compositional elegance (Vendetta, Come un Dio, Ballata, Sulla Terra).

The Zenith of Litfiba is such because it makes its own contemporary musical influences but re-manipulates and recodes them in a radical and highly personal way, as none of the renowned fellow citizens of the Florentine renaissance (Diaframma and Neon, for now rightly or wrongly, remain faithful to generally "English new wave" schemes), while others more radical (even more than Litfiba) like Pankow concentrate on a more martial and Germanic Central European sound.

The influences here are absorbed and reinterpreted with skillful and radical approach, thus opening up to very original and exciting inventions within the DNA of a generally post-punk sound, veiled with almost cinematic darkness that will actually lead to a unique record for the Florentine quintet (the subsequent Tre will indeed explore different territories and even more stylized ambitions of the '90s) but also for the rock scene of the '80s.