Neffa
Molto calmo

THE REVIEW

"....but if a traitor remains a traitor, then a king remains a king..." (Neffa, a total of years ago).

So where could I begin? From the title track, a carbon copy of the Cure? From Pellino's voice, never so shrieky and ungraceful, which indeed is corrected with the annoying autotune on a good number of tracks? From bland and repetitive production like never before? From the trivialities and sappiness that permeate the album from the first to the last minute? I don’t know. So many things have horrified me about this latest effort by Chico Snef that I really couldn’t say what disgusted me more than anything else. The pinnacle of squalor, I believe, is reached with the insipid synth pop of "Per sognare ancora". Not to mention "Quando sorridi", a real collision between Abba and Celentano (but with an ending that tries to mimic Daft Punk). Particularly irritating are also the references to a certain glossy and sugary RnB, so beloved in American charts, namely "Dove sei" and "Mi manchi tu", exemplary even from the title. "Tempo che se ne va" would seem to be a rip-off of "Incomplete" by the Backstreet Boys (yes, yes, you read that right...). Totally unnecessary too is the intervention of Terron Fabio from Sud Sound System on "Luce oro", who, by telling us the usual nonsense in deep Salentino, certainly can't revive the fortunes of a song that is a real incitement to suicide. I confess to almost being fooled by the four-four time intro of "La strada facile". In my nostalgic mind, I even thought for a split second: "Now he’s going to drop one of his verses!". Immediately disproved by the usual droning whine, without inspiration or vigor.

Let’s say things as they are: Neffa's sung records have never been particularly noteworthy, either due to his bad habit of copying left and right (to be fair, since the times of "Aspettando il sole"...), or due to the need to adapt to the tastes of the Italian radio/television audience, musically illiterate since year zero day one. The alliance with J-Ax three years ago had already foreshadowed a frightening lack of ideas, but I never expected an album so shabby. To be avoided. And now, excuse me, but I'm going to watch "The Battleship Potemkin".