Niccolò Fabi
Novo mesto

THE REVIEW

To evaluate this album, it is necessary to make a premise. When talking about Niccolò Fabi, we are discussing an artist who has transitioned from beginnings that I personally consider debatable ("Il giardiniere," "Capelli," "Dica," and songs of this nature) to a high-quality album like "La cura del tempo," which precedes this new work of his. Fabi, therefore, for "Novo mesto," lays the foundations on that album, hoping in his heart, I imagine, to achieve something more.

The impression one gets when listening to the nine tracks plus the final cover is that of an artist satisfied with the previous experience and who, with effort in his new album, tries to insert this new soft singer-songwriter imprint, with respectable music and existential-themed lyrics. I, therefore, mainly notice the absence of simplicity in these tracks but especially of spontaneity. The pieces all seem too refined and polished. Not that it is a bad thing, on the contrary, I believe that especially the musical part of this album is of rare quality, the arrangements are never banal, there is a strong focus on strings-piano-guitars achieving truly excellent results. Less convincing, however, is the textual part, which often ends up falling into rhetoric, alternating between highs and lows. The entire album does not deviate from these standards, resulting in a good record, at times monotonous, but with songs ("costruire," "evaporare," "novo mesto," etc.) that I personally find really beautiful.

So ultimately, the judgment is positive and it is an album I recommend; it is just hoped that dear Niccolò in the future doesn't make it a matter of style too forced, otherwise sooner or later he risks making a huge misstep.