Perturbazione
Canzoni allo specchio

SONGS IN THE MIRROR, the fourth work by Perturbazione, a Turin-based band that began taking its first steps back in 1988 thanks to a great passion and love for music... even the songs on this latest album are classy, well-played, and well-written (the only flaw being they are a little less experimental); the lyrics seem to come from the pen of a dreamer who plays full-time at being a poet, the instrumental parts are enchanting, light, and immediately manage to captivate the mind and purify the soul in all its dark corners.

If the second-to-last album was launched by two very particular and extraordinary singles like "Agosto" (wonderful) and "Il senso della vite" (more cheerful but genius), for this one, Perturbazione selected "Se mi scrivi" (fifth track of the CD), a love song in a soft/rock style, very appreciable, catchy, and well-constructed, specifically designed to introduce themselves to the wider public as they already attempted with "Agosto". But let's analyze the tracks one by one:

"DIECI ANNI DOPO" the album opens grandly with this slightly nostalgic yet not depressive piece, let's say liberating. An autobiographical song in which the protagonist (the singer) talks about how 10 years were spent chasing after a love, not clearly identified in the piece, but still a past love, almost forgotten but which managed to leave behind, despite 10 years, some regret for a piece of life lived "without you, without you".

"CHIEDO ALLA POLVERE" a song about the passage of time and how it changes certain things, dust settles on objects, hair is lost but the main dilemma of the lyrics is discovering "where do my days end up," a question that, for better or worse, we have all asked ourselves, maybe formulating it differently; excellent choirs and strings.

"SPALLE STRETTE" life slips away on narrow shoulders but as the singer says "better narrow shoulders, few memories settle on them"... genius lyrics, exceptional title, very light guitar designed to close the eyes and fly away against the racing time.

"ANIMALIA" the fourth song of the CD and the second single... there couldn't have been a better choice since this is one of the most successful, most beautiful and even less predictable pieces (not that the others are). "If what separates us from the beasts is a word to hurt others I don't mind being mute as a fish," well, the words say it all... better to be an animal or a human being? Beautiful transition between verse and chorus!

"SE MI SCRIVI" A number is pure mathematical abstraction but do you ever happen to give exaggerated importance to one single evening or what sign are you" so opens the fifth track of the CD and the first single of the album (by the way, the video is beautiful and very funny); an adolescent-flavored song, the importance of the phone number nowadays, ironic/sentimental subject. One of the most "commercial" songs... but that's okay if it's a good commercial.

"SE FOSSE ADESSO" After "SE mi scrivi" arrives "SE fosse adesso", mhmmm, they're a bit undecided! Anyway... what strikes me about this piece, aside from the lyrics and the wonderful intertwining of guitars, atmospheres, and violin, is the voice, very sweet but at the same time very expressive, so much so that it almost makes you want to cry in addition to thinking about what will come.

"CANZONE ALLO SPECCHIO" a song that, if it weren’t singular, would give the title to this wonderful album; it tells of how in reality sometimes everything seems to want to go contrary to you, nothing adds up, we don't feel worthy of being with other people... "it took time to understand that the sum of two is not one, it is not one like me!" Song full of abandonment but also of anger held in for too long. The acoustic and electric guitars act as excellent "highlighters" of feelings.

"LA FINE DI QUALCOSA" a classic Luigi Tenco-style song, still very singer-songwriter. Slow but engaging.

"SECONDA PERSONA" an excellent love song, as always the violin takes the lead on a jazz drum, the play on words in the title must be understood without much fuss because it fits very well, what to say, to demonstrate that even without banal and cliché phrases a band can write excellent love songs.

"A LUCE SPENTA" "It's only half past three in the morning how to get to sleep I don't know I roll over facing the wall but your face from a photo waves hello... let me sleep for a while I don't feel like thinking about you again!" very sleepless piece... ever present when you think too much about a girl or a boy and can't sleep? Yes?! Then this piece should move you just enough but don't worry... memories remain and the desire to apologize to each other! Excellent part sung by Rachele Bastreghi!

"QUATTRO GOCCE DI BLU" all that's left when night falls; a very touching and introspective song, it talks about darkness, unfulfilled promises, the splendor of a past time... the acoustic guitar accompanies excellently the whole second-to-last piece and in the final chorus, the drummer works intensively on the ride! And everything emerges...

"IL MATERIALE E L'IMMAGINATO" a song that closes the chaos and puppets, the second voice, very dandy, is by Francesco Bianconi of Baustelle, a very successful part, perhaps better than that of the leader of Perturbazione. The song is not one of the best, too long, maybe the finale could have been more intense but in the end, it’s okay like this.

The only criticism I raise is that on one side I’m sorry that PERTURBAZIONE did not entirely remain faithful to their very original sound pushed greatly in the previous album, "IN CIRCOLO", and that they decided to go for a more pseudo pop singer-songwriter music but in the end the album is well executed (perhaps a bit too similar given that the theme of passing time is often played with) and that's what matters.