Max Gazzè
Quindi?

"So what?"

A title that might mean something but also might not.

The new album from the Roman singer-songwriter following the excellent "Tra l'Aratro e la Radio" sees the newly minted actor Max Gazzè (who played a leading role in the recent film "Basilicata Coast To Coast" by Rocco Papaleo) return to his primary occupation: the singer-songwriter.
Twelve tracks of general good taste and fine craftsmanship. An honest album built on lyrics straddling the hermetic and the sincerely sentimental. Musically, some tracks are of sure interest, while others are less intriguing and juicy.

The standout tracks are definitely "Edera", musically complex and surreal with mandolins, violins, and organs delicately intertwined with magic. The lyrics are truly interesting, showcasing how to write a love song without any banality "...io che sarei di te i nei e le vertebre...". Captivating and highly hermetic, "DNA (Desossiribonucleico)" sounds a bit like the early Subsonica albums with that catchy and fun electronic funk. The lyrics are a tough sequence of linguistic knots "...informazione sequenziale senza l'indice, persa nel fremito ciclonico, desossiribonucleico...". The third noteworthy track is "Io Dov'ero (Atmos 5)", which brings to mind the Roman bassist's first album (who remembers "Il Bagliore Dato A Questo Sole" or the subsequent "L'Origine del Mondo") with concepts that hover between the surreal and the mysterious "...la luce incognita, come di cattedrale, quasi alabastrina si promana inesorabile...".

Well-crafted is the coquettish "A Cuore Scalzo", the bold and rhythmic "Nuovi Allineamenti di Stonehenge" featuring excellent bass work by the talented Gazzè. "Mentre Dormi" is the gentle ballad that accompanied the soundtrack of the above-mentioned film. A more popular track, of course, but well executed "...mentre dormi ti proteggo e ti sfioro con le dita...". Very interesting is "Storie Crudeli (Non c'è Ragione Per Raccontare)", which attacks the violent content of certain video games that rob kids of the desire and time to explore nature "...quattro pupazzi con testa ad antenna e la pancia col televisore gestiti e cresciuti da un aspirapolvere mangiano schiume di ogni colore...". The rest of the album stays at a good level with intriguing and cerebral lyrics and music that may be less flavorful but always noteworthy.

Gazzè confirms he is an artist much underrated by most.