Marlene Kuntz
Uno

"Uno" is the new album by our own Marlene Kuntz.

Sure, we miss the old Marlene; there's no denying it. We miss the priceless sensation offered by those fantastic noise outbursts, overshadowed by Cristiano Godano's impressive vocal abilities. But it's precisely albums like this that could alleviate the feeling of emptiness and loss: because "Uno" touches the status of a masterpiece, unlike the controversial "Bianco Sporco."

Certainly, to understand it, one must overcome the "stadium fan" frenzy (that mentality that says "the old days of Rivera and Mazzola - in this case of "Catartica" and "Ho Ucciso Paranoia" - will never return"): and inside here, if you manage to overcome it, rest assured that there is quality to spare.

The approach to an (authorial) dimension, first and foremost, is increasingly evident, and it's crowned by the collaboration with Maestro Paolo Conte (other guests include Ivana Gatti on backing vocals and Greg Cohen on double bass in as many as four tracks), at home and comfortable moving between the black and white piano keys in the sumptuous "Musa", undoubtedly one of Marlene's greatest performances. Don't be fooled by the opener "Canto", beautiful (it immediately brings to mind the typical rarefied atmospheres of certain Eno works) but not exactly representative of what will be heard in the rest of the work.

The piano is certainly not the only new addition to the sound fabric of Godano's band; synths, acoustic six-string, keyboards and electronics are welcome guests in the perspective of a sonic enrichment that manifests itself more and more with each album.

The sonic rage of their beginnings is now channeled into the lyrical bitterness of episodes like "111" (nothing to do with Tiziano Ferro, heaven forbid), in which Godano even resorts to speaking to describe a love story culminated in tragedy; the crescendoing sonic finale clarifies that we are certainly not dealing with a (solely) pop album.

The main theme on a textual level remains love, whether it be wildly lustful (the "slimy" and d'Annunzio-esque "Sapore Di Miele"), murderous (the aforementioned "111"), enticing ("Canzone Sensuale", the title says it all). Words always remain a central element in the economy of each piece ("they stopped making love/stopped having sex too", note the intention to distinguish two terms that seem so similar but actually mean two very different things), but an approach to writing songs more in the style of Radiohead (as specified by Godano himself), rather than Sonic Youth, has led the band to focus more on simplicity and lyricism in the songs.

Additionally noteworthy are the perfect soft melodies of "Canzone Ecologica", the splendid strings crowning a monumental "La Ballata Dell'Ignavo" (needless to say, the usual great lyrics) and the unusually rhythmic pop-rock of "Abbracciami" (with a part of the vocals in English, evidently considered by Godano more suitable to represent that part of the song) and "Negli Abissi Tra I Palpiti". After a slow and evocative "Stato D'Animo" (where the spoken word reemerges), the closure is entrusted to the first single "Uno", an extremely radio-friendly title track that clashes poorly with the rest of the album, but ultimately remains pleasant.

It's definitely worth highlighting, regarding the booklet, the contribution of heavyweights such as Stefano Benni, Carlo Lucarelli, and Gianmaria Testa, confirming Godano's great passion for literature, already evident in the beautiful lyrics of Marlene's songs.