Litfiba
Grande Nazione

And in the end, Elio's appeal ("Litfiba come back together," closing of the album "Cicciput" from 2003) was heard.

Piero Pelù and Ghigo Renzulli, the two excellent contenders of Italian rock, have really reunited. The new "Grande Nazione" is being talked about as the direct successor of the disastrous "Infinito" from 1999; inaccurate, because in reality, Litfiba continued with Gianluigi Cavallo on vocals (a period that produced two failures, "Elettromacumba" and "Essere O Sembrare" and, surprisingly, a good album, "Insidia") and subsequently the fleeting Filippo Margheri (just enough time for a single EP). Technically, therefore, no reunion; that the "returning element" is one of the most important Italian frontmen of the last thirty years, well, it is well-known.

Coming to the new album, recorded in the United States and mixed by an industry excellence like Tim Palmer, even after a brief listen, there are several points to note: the unfortunate electro-pop shadows of abortions like "Mascherina" or "Sexydream" (from the aforementioned "Infinito") have completely disappeared, leaving only a renewed taste for keyboards, which adorn the wild punk rock of the opener "Fiesta tosta". Beautiful and solid is the riff of the first, controversial single "Squalo", perhaps not perfectly calibrated at the melodic level, but an excellent example of the overall sound of the work (the true function, ultimately, of the single itself). "Elettrica" and "Luna dark" are luminous ballads that could also come from the less loud and flashy, more "calibrated" and raw solo Pelù (the one from "Soggetti Smarriti", "Fenomeni" and especially "In Faccia"). "Anarcoide" and "Brado" wink at the aggressiveness of "Terremoto", combining it with a new melodic awareness that the band has acquired over time and through their respective experiences while apart. "La mia valigia", the most singer-songwriter piece the Litfiba have ever created, is the closing gem of the album.

It's not all, as they say, roses and flowers: the title track, for example, feels a bit too much like a slogan forced specifically for live shows, and it doesn't offer a pleasant sensation (see the "Italianiiiiiii!" shouted by good Piero at the beginning of the piece), "Tra te e me" flows lightly but somewhat flat in its alt-rock manner, the same goes for "Tutti buoni", although it stands a step above the latter.

The lyrics of the album, announced to the protagonists themselves before the release as "angry", reflect the fact that they were written a year ago, thus with the previous Government still in power; apart from a trivial mention of the now ubiquitous "Bunga Bunga", they are incisive and consistent with the musical proposal presented.

In the end, it's a good return: it's useless to ask these "guys", now middle-aged, for a new "17 re" or a new "Terremoto", that said, "Grande Nazione" is a good album of vibrant, honest but dazzling rock 'n roll. In these times, that's already a lot.

Long live Litfiba, and welcome back to us.

Key Tracks: "Fiesta tosta", "Luna dark", "Anarcoide", "La mia valigia"