Misturafina
Tuffo Virtuale

Group: MISTURAFINA
Title: VIRTUAL DIVE
Year: 2001
Record Company: ZOMBA RECORDS ITALIA S.R.L.
Label: JIVE

...so it should all be reachable! "...who cares if it rains outside, if tonight we'll make love..." here’s the opening part of "Per un altro bacio", the little catchy tune that in 2001 allowed Misturafina, a young band from Frosinone, to appear on some television stations like Mtv or All Music (formerly ViVa Rete A) before sadly disappearing the following year.

But before this, before disappearing into nothingness, swallowed by an immense black hole that lies at the center of Italian music, Misturafina released an album with the bizarre title "Tuffo virtuale"; determined, in 2001, to buy the record to see if truly, as everyone wanted me to think, the band in question was the same as many other "pop/banal/sweet/plain" bands... well, I had to change my mind.

Here’s my review. The influences of the whole album are definitely brit-pop and the band's jazz background resurfaces in some tracks, Marcello Giona's voice is well-crafted, delicate, at times poetic and very suitable for the genre, the other four members know their stuff, and the spot-on choruses and countermelodies make it a magnificent work. "Tuffo virtuale", the first track of the cd, is an engaging melodic rock with a decidedly pop-alternative lyric ("ho una nonna matta che si agita un po', è videodipendente, nevrotica"), a great choice to start the dance and energetically set off the other 10 tracks.
"Per un altro bacio", the second single extracted, is a catchy, simple piece and at times made just to sell but is also (surely) an honest piece, musically light but well-structured; as the first acoustic ballad, we find the beautiful "Anna", the theme dealt with is love, the words Marcello uses are those of a poet and the instrumental part, mainly constructed on acoustic guitar, violins, and jazz drums, superbly accompanies the voice.

"Io ti darei", one of my favorite pieces, knows how to move those who listen (me, for example) and, at the same time, manages to take the mind and heart far away, to some remote oasis, in no time; it’s now useless to say the guitar chords are amazing and enchanting. Great music and great lyrics ("io ti darei la Luna intera se fosse raggiungibile"). "Sebonè", aside from having the most peculiar text, is also the hardest song to propose to the young public as it is an Italian-style salsa/pop, a genre not often heard in Italy, difficult to enjoy if one thought they bought a pop/commercial cd, thus, we can understand from this the validity, thrown to the stake by record companies, of these brilliant musicians with a capital M; here is a mythical phrase from this "surreal" text: "vivo un pomeriggio di calma piatta, ho la faccia stanca non reggo più, vendo collanine di ceralacca, faccio un po' fatica a tenermi su".

The sixth track, the third single extracted, is titled "Quando sorridi", here the band from Frosinone returns to Italianized brit-pop, the formula of simple lyrics, beautiful voice, melodic instrumental part, and Beatles-style choruses works but not enough to make this song one of the most beautiful. "Stai con me", the first single released in 2000, unlike the previous track, is truly one of the most beautiful pieces of this group; a soft-rock styled acoustic ballad, nostalgic and tear-jerking just enough, without exceeding in the banal; Marcello's words hit the mark once again ("rimani come sei, amando quando vuoi, più forte se lo crederai e tu non cambierai") and the relaxed atmosphere of the track is stunning; the jazz drums and jingles create a fantastic rhythmic background while bass and acoustic guitars stop your heart for 3 minutes and 50 seconds of magic.

A must-listen... "Tu sei" is nice, a bit too similar to "Quando sorridi", but it can be listened to without issues; nice solo at 2 minutes and 15 seconds. Crazy, very Prozac + (listen a bit to how eclectic they are), track number 9, "Tua (Un domani diverso)", green, white, and red psychedelic post-punk; absurd at the end with closing feedback, a track that detaches from the rest of the work but is still listenable.
With "Teresa", the third acoustic ballad, we go into the "light music from the '60s" genre with Spanish-influenced lyrics. The combination of jazz drums, acoustic guitar, and violins always works, and Misturafina knows how to make good use of it. Eleventh and last track "Per un altro bacio (acoustic version)"; shortened and lighter version. In some points, it even works better than the original.

What to say... it’s a pity that Misturafina disappeared, moreover indecorously, in 2002 with the horrible single "Ho voglia di ballare"; in my opinion, they could have contributed much more to the musical landscape of our beautiful country compared to market bands like SugarFree, Finley, ex LunaPop, and so on... pity... truly a great pity... luckily they left us this record which I strongly recommend to everyone who loves good music.

p.s. Note the beautiful cover!!! Stunning!!!