Negrita
L'uomo Sogna Di Volare

THE REVIEW

Among the many flaws that human beings have, there's one I want to analyze now: we are never satisfied with anything! In the musical field, this flaw consists of wanting our idols to take a turn, experiment, which we then don't like... and, among many cases, there's the one of "L'uomo sogna di volare," an album that was not liked by either critics or fans who found the new sound of the Aretini too "Brazilian".

This album is pleasant and, most importantly, different from Negrita's previous work. Sure, it's not a masterpiece, let's be clear; "Sale" starts with a good riff and already shows the first signs of experimentation: a rapped part (very predictable and unnecessary) that loses a lot of quality in an otherwise decent song. The title track is a relaxed, very pleasant song characterized by a light acoustic guitar accompanied by the arpeggio of a clean electric guitar. The lyrics are very clear: it talks about the man who "writes on walls 'we are all the same' but prays in the dark 'may the fate of the weakest never touch me'"; "Mother" tries to be a reggae with results that are not excellent but not entirely dismissible either (the lyrics, however, are a bit banal).

The fourth track is the album's masterpiece: "Greta"; here too you immediately notice a rhythm not really "Italian" that will take control in the fabulous finale filled with Brazilian drums and rolls. The song is very melancholic, especially in the pre-chorus, but at the same time manages to be sunny. "Destinati a perdersi" instead starts with a little campfire guitar, suggesting an atmosphere of serenity, but in the chorus changes tune with a pop melody and phrases like "dragging their legs they tremble"... "Rotolando verso sud" is the bone of contention: they said it's commercial... so what? They said it's a poor imitation of the Manu Chao style... so what? It's a terribly catchy and summery song, there's nothing wrong with that. "Il mio veleno" is perhaps the only track that has something in its DNA from the old Negrita, those angry rockers ("keeping calm is not part of the role I have") and carefree ("my karma wobbles and I often pee outside"); all on a wall of distortions and watts.

The job of saddening the weak-hearted goes to "Tutto bene", an acoustic song which in my opinion is spectacular but perhaps too reminiscent of Zero Assoluto, especially in the whispered singing style, but it leaves a mark (especially on those with a slightly broken heart). After drying our tears, we jump back up with the weird rock of "Alzati teresa". "Violence works, anger works, panic pays off, the people spend while beatifying crimes and economies" is sung in the final and political "Il branco" where the sound is 100% Brazilian... in the end a good album, a well-done experiment that unfortunately wasn't much appreciated.... Negrita remains, however, one of the few realities of the Italian music scene.

Praise to the pack!