Negramaro
Mentre tutto scorre

San Siro, 2018. It was one of the most embarrassing concerts I have ever seen, the one by Negramaro. It could be that it was a band I used to listen to with pleasure before moving on to music of a higher caliber, and so I expected something that would at least leave me satisfied. I found a significantly changed Negramaro: gone were the gritty, robust guitars dictating the songs, replaced by a boring and cloying piano, limp arrangements without the slightest taste. A pathetic concert. So I decided to revisit their early works, which in my opinion were the most decent but above all less pretentious, the ones where Giuliano Sangiorgi and his friends/colleagues seemed to genuinely want to take a risk. The first splendid work was called "00577", where the band immediately showcases its trademark: a pop rock balanced between easy listening (radio-friendly to be precise) but that in some ways leads the listener to delve into certain soundscapes, which until then only a few had brought into a mainstream reality as Negramaro did in our local territory. In the first album one can indeed hear sounds that nod to bands like Radiohead, Muse, Keane, and Coldplay primarily (I deduce these are the group's preferred bands, if not, it might seem), bound by Giuliano Sangiorgi's voice, which you clearly either love or hate, each for their own reasons but this isn't the point I'd like to dwell on.

The second album "Mentre tutto scorre" continues the discourse started with the first one, managing to climb the charts and finally carve out a position in the music market, partly also thanks to participating in Festivalbar, in addition to a journey in which, for better or worse, the band demonstrated to be musically much more prepared than it seemed, tastes aside. Compared to the first album, the sounds here are less "raw," and this is evident in the final mixing, which unlike what will be done in later albums keeps the sound of the Puglia band consistent. A more professional album also in terms of rhythm; if in the first album there were many good episodes, but the listening seemed barely studied, here it clears all doubts, and the result is visible (and audible). 12 tracks, some lighter, others less so, and some that have become cult episodes in their repertoire. Let's take a moment to analyze them:

"Nella mia stanza" opens the album, a very enjoyable introductory track, although it will seem less original compared to what we will hear afterwards. "Mentre tutto scorre" is the first single, and following its participation in Sanremo, it was quite mistreated by many listeners, when, in fact, it is a little surprise, with a rhythm of a verse that winds up until triggering an explosive chorus, where references to Muse are not entirely coincidental, a band that will always return not only in this album but also in the (only two) subsequent ones. "Solo3min" is the first ballad, accompanied by a moving video; an emotional track, although the chorus, in particular, may be difficult to digest for those who do not particularly enjoy Giuliano's falsetto; for those who have learned to develop an ear for it, it will be pleasantly striking. It is followed by "Musa" (a title that says it all), with those brass sections that lean towards England, it’s a track that doesn’t add much more to the rest of the work, but overall is pleasant to listen to. We have now reached the masterpiece of the album, at least until this point: "I miei robot" is a bewildering track: Negramaro this time have fun playing, opening with a children’s choir in a hypothetical music school, which then develops with the entrance of rhythm and a folk guitar, a simple but adorable chorus, and an explosion of scratching electric guitars and drums that recall the sounds of "Zanzare" and "Mono", contained in the first album. Too bad it has ended up in oblivion. And here is the hit "Estate", a song that was detested due to its numerous radio broadcasts, but unlike songs like "Parlami d'amore", here one is really talking about a nice pop piece. The piano is delightful, the chorus beautiful, with that flavor balancing carefreeness and bitterness, a characteristic that Negramaro have always managed to treat with coherence, albeit a few times maintaining the same depth.

"Ogni mio istante" is instead the most delicate episode of the work, opened by an emotional arpeggio of classical guitar, later supported by a string accompaniment, creating almost a bonfire-on-the-beach atmosphere. Perhaps a bit too pompous but overall a modest piece. And here comes "Nuvole e lenzuola", a track that is clearly a reference to Keane (and that "Somebody told me"), but frankly it doesn’t matter much, because if we were to count all the plagiarisms in Italian music, or even just the quotings, this review would last two hundred pages at least. The track is appreciable, although it has left little impression on me over time. "Sui tuoi nei" and "Scomoda-mente" are the lesser episodes of the album, musically as usual well constructed and played, but they add nothing different from what we have heard so far. And finally arrives "L’immensità", a cover of Mina and Lauzi; Negramaro come out with their head held high, even without reaching the pinnacle of the original interpretation they maintain it consistent with their style, from the distorted guitars entering towards the chorus to Giuliano’s compelling vocal lines. Not a masterpiece, but a respectable cover. It closes with "Solo per te", where the dominant atmosphere is Sangiorgi’s voice, a piano perhaps unwittingly inspired by "Trouble" by Coldplay, and a splendid trumpet solo that gives the song a touch of jazz magic. A good closure, though nothing so unforgettable.

"Mentre tutto scorre" is one of Negramaro's best works, when they still maintained musical dignity and consistency, where Giuliano's "bleats" sounded good in context, and above all, still defend themselves well in the Italian pop-rock market. I recommend a revised listening to those who criticized it at the time, to rediscover a band that back then knew how to do their part before replacing at their concerts the lovers of a certain alternative rock with Emma Marrone’s fanbase. The last two works are entirely negligible, stay away from them and retrieve this nice little disk, it certainly won’t do you any harm.