Scisma
Armstrong

After the "massification" of the grunge genre, and the appearance of Radiohead and their derivatives - which indelibly marked the '90s - everyone seemed too concerned with comparing new arrivals to the "greats" of a few years earlier. Unfortunately, Scisma is no exception: similarity to Afterhours was the verdict of the reviewers, and similarity to Afterhours it remained. Saying this for Rosemary Plexiglas was one thing, considering it was produced by Manuel Agnelli, but it would soon prove to be too narrow a label for the group. So when most "alternative" rock bands turned in other directions (from around '97 onwards), Paolo Benvegnù and his band were among the first to experiment with a type of rock quite different from what was in vogue just a few seasons earlier. The public and critics did not understand what was already hinted at from the EP Vive Le Roi (1998), and Scisma - last wagon of Virgin in sales, moreover - entered a crisis after the flop of Armstrong, eventually leading to the breakup in 2000.

However, Armstrong is one of the most beautiful Italian rock albums of the '90s, on par with cent' Hai Paura del Buio? and Il Vile (Marlene Kuntz, another oft-used comparison for Scisma). The single "Tungsteno", much appreciated by MTV, perhaps promised something like a duplicate of Rosemary Plexiglas in an electroindiepoprockblabla version, this is to be highlighted - among the various causes of the commercial failure - but it does not justify the fact that the album was received poorly by the specialized press. The color palette in Armstrong is much more varied and rich compared to the previous album. Carefree at times, full of vitality, melancholic and meditative elsewhere, the tracks are presented here in the best attire they could afford.

The production by Paolo Benvegnù and Giovanni Ferrario (Micevice) is impeccable. The contribution of Marc Huyghens (Venus) and Roy Paci brings to life a captivating version of "I Am the Ocean" (Venus also recorded a version for their first album, Welcome To The Modern Dancehall). Psychedelic undertones color the lively "Giuseppe Pierri" (a tribute to Benvegnù's elementary school teacher), "L'Universo", and the skeletal/cybernetic (?) "Troppo Poco Intelligente" - much more interesting live. It's impossible not to dwell on "L'Innocenza", where Sara Mazo lends her voice to yet another gem:

"non so se ci sia
una ragione per capire
e difendere gli enormi spazi
che esplodono dentro di me
che bruciano dentro di me
che non so dire niente
non so se per me è più importante il cielo
che nascondere e reprimere mille paure
che esplodono dentro di me
che bruciano dentro di me
che non ho niente
io non so perché è tutto così vero
che descrivere è impossibile bisogna immaginare...”

- which along with "Simmetrie" could be listened to endlessly -
The lyrics of "Jetson High Speed" are emblematic:

"io che so non significa nulla
io che so non significa niente
sopravvivo al contrario di me
ciò che so non significa nulla
ciò che so non significa niente
da dove vengo? che cosa ho perso?
(...)
e se sono il contrario di me, da che cosa mi sento diverso?”