Pay
Federico Tre e il Destino Infausto

One of the most appealing and skilled albums of recent years. I don't think that many, among those who spotted it in some Italian store, managed to resist the phrase "PunkRockOpera tragicomic in two acts", under the title. And, above all, I imagine how the cover, depicting a parody of "Sgt. Pepper's...", struck the hearts, in a positive way, of Beatles and rock lovers in general. At least my reaction was like this: immediate purchase followed by a hurried return home followed by rejoicing.

Yes, rejoicing. Because despite its elaborate but qualitatively poor graphics (it's a self-produced album), the Pay demonstrate a compositional vein worthy of many founding punk bands of the genre, and markedly superior to the vile product of various Green Day, Millencolin, etc...

Precisely the start from the conventional theme of the rise and fall of a tyrant, also taken from the original story "Federico Tre e il Destino Infausto", made me realize the actual talent of the Pay. Self-defined as "PunkRocker'sOrchestra" they toy with harmonicas, voiceovers, and choirs.

Just the participation of Roberto "Freak" Antoni and Alberto Camerini among the mass of jokers in the Orchestra leads one to hope for something good, a hope that after listening to "Che Strazio" and "I Cattivi Non Muoiono Mai" turns into thunderous applause for the singer of Skiantos (oh no, now I feel like listening to them once again! Free me from the punk germ!).
The melodies abound, sometimes accompanied by fairly contained touches of harshness, and the singers (at least 3, or were they 4?) take turns every time; the listening is pleasant and smooth, even though it is a punk album.
It is practically impossible to find standout tracks in the tracklist, except for the already mentioned songs by Antoni. And, if you add to this the fact that the album is well done, with a bit of gray matter one can deduce that all the songs are of a good level.

In conclusion, the album is recommended to anyone who wants to spend a quiet afternoon in their room, seasoning the intervals between joints with the soft emotions that "Federico Tre..." conveys: just a drop of anger, a bit of goofing around, a bit of cheerfulness and, in my opinion, a latent nostalgia. Many of you will tell me that the album is not soft at all, etc., but I am convinced that by reading between the lines of the punk sound you can find the lightness that I found too.

In short, it is a nice album.