Rabarbari
Storie D'Aria

Florentine trio active for about three years, Rabarbari reach the milestone of their debut full-length album this year with "Storie D'Aria," following their debut EP "Isodi" released three years ago.

Composed of ten tracks and produced and mixed by Samuele Cangi (former Passogigante and currently a member of Nothing For Breakfast, two other popular bands in the Florentine music scene) at his JOJO Studio, "Storie D'Aria" is structured as an original concept album that (as specified in the liner notes, the latter enhanced by the splendid and always original illustrations by Valentina Raddi) narrates a hypothetical demotion of the god Mercury to an airplane pilot, as (literal quote) "a metaphor for our days made of fallen gods with unlimited potential, forced into unwanted tasks in the name of progress."

And it is precisely the voice of "the god Mercury" (splendidly interpreted in the recited interludes of the album by Gabriele Zini) that serves as the unifying thread between the tracks of the album, a compact and surprisingly varied work in atmospheres, considering that the lineup led by Luca Giovanni Frosinini (guitar and vocals, aided by his companions Duccio Bonciani on percussion and Fulvio Ponzio on bass) produces solid, essential but absolutely never banal arrangements throughout the album.

An album that opens with one of the group's most incisive and dated pieces (already regularly offered in live settings for some time), "Equilibrio," which in its studio version makes use of Cangi's careful production to unleash an intense and rich refrain, enhanced by the lyrics of a dreamy and poetic Frosinini ("and every time we seek equilibrium, we walk suspended over deserts and cities"). A semi-ballad crescendo that perfectly opens the work and introduces a sudden change of atmosphere leading to "Diego," a bursting Latin number that seems to have jumped straight out of "Abraxas" and immediately makes it clear that the journey through the work will be, albeit with a notable, underlying consistency, a roller coaster ride.

"Lucido," as well as the sharp closing (already from the title) "Il curriculum di un fallito" (imagine a Battisti suddenly obsessed with funk), further stirs the waters and polishes the perfect balance of the bass/percussion intersection, fundamental in the band's sound structure.

"La cicala e la formica," both lyrically and musically, boasts the title of the most peculiar and interesting number of the lot, thanks to Frosinini's overflowing guitar performance, painting, creating, and undoing like the most inspired of painters. "Petso fanchi" risks in its small way (and let us hope not, heaven forbid) becoming for Rabarbari what "Fuori Dal Tunnel" was for Caparezza: a ferocious diatribe disguised as a catchy summer superhit ("I certainly didn't think of becoming famous / given the fact that I play randomly on stage") ironically highlights an unsuspected hitmaker's talent for the Florentine band, which packages the perfect potential summer beach-bomb single, while simultaneously mocking the very type of such a track.

"Ti rubo un bacio sottovoce" is a smoky ballad/tribute to the most beautiful and dreamy Florence, but it seems cut from the songbook of Damon Albarn's solo "Everyday Robots," fusing two singer-songwriter worlds that would seem irreconcilable with each other. "Tratto da una storia falsa" lyrically is the most ferocious track on the album: Frosinini, with a slightly rougher and more aggressive vocal register than usual, targets without hesitation much of the typical misconduct of today's Italy, between those who advance without merit in various fields (not only musical) with the help of their daddy, and those who from that very pulpit preach not exactly in line with their actions.

"La Fisa" resumes for a moment a lively funk-like discourse before launching into a splendid Floydian opening in the bridge, leading us to the ballad "Lontano," between Nick Drake and the best of Italian singer-songwriters.

A beautiful album, perfectly recorded and produced, created by artists who put love into what they do, and honesty, a rarely found element in today's music scene.

Best Track: Tratto da una storia falsa