Noste
Sabbia

Noste “Sabbia”

“A new singer-songwriter, a surprising album”

“Sabbia” is the first album by the Brescia-based singer-songwriter “Noste”.

Music, poetry, and high-level arrangements that you honestly wouldn't expect from a “self-produced” album.

News about the singer-songwriter? Few... Born in '77, some competitions, a not very active Facebook page, several videos on YouTube, but none professional, scant promotion for an astonishingly beautiful album, so much so that one wonders how it's possible for an artist like this not to be followed by a major or at least an independent label that deserves such a name.

Admitting that the item presents itself very well with a carefully crafted cardboard cover and excellent graphics, I proceed to review the songs.

The album begins with “Mercy,” an acoustic ballad of exquisite quality that denotes a profound respect for the female gender to which I belong. The track could very well be an anthem against violence on women, followed by an instrumental piece lasting only a few seconds but very effective. “Otehi” is a backdrop of acoustic slide that fades, opening the doors wide to “L’interrutore” (my favorite track) - a dark and brilliant sound at the same time with an “outro” of a frontrunner. The main theme of the album is love, a subject that might seem obvious if it weren't for Noste's interpretative ability to make even an almost obvious rhyme special.

Track 4 is “Una splendida notte” and catapults us into a new, more vibrant environment. The guitar riff spins and spins in your head, accompanied by a rhythm reminiscent of Paolo Nutini's sounds.

The “title track” of the album is a song that surprises: “Sabbia” is a small masterpiece of arrangements and poetry, a magical planet with an oriental flavor, a sweet flugelhorn, a solemn acoustic guitar accompaniment, an electric guitar that caresses the soul, a voice that hits the stomach.

“Una vita più in là” is the sixth track, a nighttime lullaby enriched by a melancholic cello. In this track, one perceives the freedom of the artist moving with ease in harmonious, rounded melodies, far from modern pop music.

Noste manages to make different worlds coexist in the same album, maintaining a very personal style. The lineup seems perfectly designed not to bore the listener, and indeed it's the turn of “Il Mangianotte” - a Pop song with a complex and growing structure that could remind you of Afterhours in the verse, Zucchero in the chorus, and Vasco Rossi in the electric guitar solo, or perhaps more simply the most fitting description is: a beautiful pop song.

The tracklist doesn't raise the tempo randomly, “Il Mangianotte” is followed by a funky/Pop piece, “Già” makes you move and smile before the song of absolute melancholy, “Noi due” is a ballad, voice, guitar, percussion, and piano…heart-wrenching.

Track no. 10 is the one that convinces me the least. Although it is a good track and well-played, “La barista” seems to slightly derail the sound of the album. The theme of the track is somewhat similar to the ironic “Già,” that is, an obsession with an unrequited love…a forgivable sidetrack anyway.

“Uhni wana” another instrumental track that serves as an opening to an extraordinary song that closes the album: “Sempre” is a love declaration, a simple and profound poem accompanied by an arrangement where the acoustic guitar responds to a harmonious hammond, concluding with an outro that could have lasted a few seconds longer given its beauty.

the album is not distributed except on “Google Play” in digital format; I found it on eBay after listening to it on SoundCloud.

Laura Campedelli