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THE REVIEW
Year 1994: the Consorzio Produttori Indipendenti releases the debut of Marlene Kuntz, "Catartica", a beautiful and essential album for Italian rock, perhaps the best of the band, which still managed to repeat itself at high levels at least with the following "Il Vile" and "Ho ucciso paranoia", before undergoing slow and various gradual transformations...
The Marlenes burst onto the Italian music scene decisively, relying for production on the great Gianni Maroccolo, with an impactful, strong, dark, and decadent rock d'auteur, but also sweet, articulated on noise sounds, daughters of Sonic Youth. Two sharp guitars, dirty yet atmospheric and traveling melodies, and a powerful rhythm section, for 14 pearls of great precision, accompanied by lyrical, poetic, and impetuous lyrics and a charismatic voice that Godano would increasingly modify (for the worse) throughout his career. It starts from the devastating anthem of "M.K.", passing through the powerful "Festa mesta" and the raw and traveling "Sonica", reaching perhaps what is the truly memorable piece of the album, the poignant and atmospheric "Nuotando nell'aria", and then immediately restarting with other furious tracks touching punk and grunge (like "I II III") and more elaborate and evocative pieces (like the fantastic "Lieve" or "Canzone di domani"). All in a compact way, balancing impetuosity and sweetness, torment and ecstasy, with expressive liberation, fascinating and incisive.
"Nuotando nell'aria"
Skin: it's yours that's exactly what I miss
at certain moments and in this moment
it's your skin that I feel, swimming in the air.
Scents of love in the aching, trembling, burning mind,
the heart asks what is missing
why it feels bad, very bad,
loving, loving, loving you still.
In bed I wait every day for a piece of you
a gram of joy from your smile
and it's not enough for me to swim in the air to imagine you:
if only you knew the pain.
Meanwhile, the air around is more fog than anything else
the air is more fog than anything.
It's truly a thrill to have you here with me
in free flight over the years now gone by
and it's not easy you should believe me
to feel you here with me because you're not here
I would like, you know, to hear you cry
even a tear for a few moments
I would like, you know, to hear you cry
even a tear for a few moments.
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Summary by Bot
Catartica, Marlene Kuntz's 1994 debut album, is hailed as a cornerstone of Italian rock. Produced by Gianni Maroccolo, it combines sharp guitars and poetic, impassioned lyrics with influences from Sonic Youth. The album balances intense energy with atmospheric melodies across 14 powerhouse tracks. Standouts include the emotional "Nuotando nell'aria" and the punk/grunge infused "I II III." Overall, the album offers a compelling mix of darkness, sweetness, and expressive liberation.Tracklist Lyrics Videos
Marlene Kuntz
Italian alternative rock band from Cuneo, fronted by Cristiano Godano; noted for the early albums Catartica and Il Vile and for intense live performances.52 Reviews
Other reviews
By pugliamix
"Cristiano Godano’s writing harmoniously combines vulgarity and lyricism, extreme refinement and naivete."
"Marlene is the only band that, from the debut, already plays at the same level as the best American and English rock bands."
By Hardrock92
This is the album I prefer from Marlene Kuntz, it is the most genuine, the noisiest, the angriest, but also very catchy.
Godano’s lyrics, which mix rhetoric, anger, a desire to escape, and a touch of poetry perfectly transpire from the guitars and his voice.
By Robutti
It was an orgasmic album, the only similar things I had heard coming out of the Italian scene were notes from CCCP and Negazione.
Of course: later I delved into New Wave and my listening habits took another turn. But today... what sadness.
