Statuto
Sempre

There are not many artists in Italian music who can boast a career spanning two decades without ever succumbing to cheap publicity or relying on friendly journalists and easy commercialism.
Statuto has always remained true to their belief as real mods, artistically and humanly intact. They could have capitalized on the festival success of "we won the Sanremo festival", but instead of easy commercial success, they preferred the satisfaction of always being themselves, even at the cost of losing important reviews and equally significant promotions. This results in a discography that may be somewhat discontinuous (self-producing always entails many more problems than for those who don't), but very consistent and always true to itself, as confirmed by this new and beautiful work entitled Sempre, where the statements of intent are clear from the very beginning.

"Pazzo" is a ska track that asserts the right to always say what one thinks without letting anyone else decide for us or trying to please the powerful of the moment. After all, it's a cornerstone of the mod mentality to always believe in oneself, no matter what.
"Un fiore nel deserto" seems to refer to a character and a story also told in oSKAr's book, Il migliore dei mondi possibili, which I recommend reading. A friend of Statuto, a skinhead, went to London where he thought he'd live in the land of skinheads, only to return very disappointed when he was metaphorically slapped in the face by the same skins for being Italian.
Then there's the dedication to their beloved team, Torino, with "Facci un gol," particularly inspired by a Curva Maratona idol, the great Paolino Pulici known as "Puliciclone". "Sempre," the title track, is a gentle love ballad, while "Vivere felici" and "Nessuno come noi" are festive and fun tracks as they know well how to do.
Next, there's the real gem of the album, "In fabbrica," featuring the collaboration of the great Severini brothers (Gang): it denounces the dogged life endured by factory workers, working in often unworthy conditions, between exhausting shifts and arrogant and overbearing supervisors. "Il regno della Mole" is a lashing critique of FIAT and the Agnelli family. Also noteworthy is Statuto’s decision to no longer play in Turin due to various problems and misunderstandings with journalists and institutions of the Savoy city.
Then there's a Roy Hamilton cover, "Sali sù," followed by a satire on the politician of the moment who promises the world but after being elected....
"Una piccola formalità" is also a cover (this time of Dee Clark), while "Torno a cantare" deserves a brief reflection. After his father's death, oSKAr experienced a crisis during which he completely lost the use of his vocal cords. After understandably dark times, fighting and struggling, his voice returned, and now he can finally sing again.
"Mentalità da strada" is another declaration of fidelity to the mod spirit, finally closing the curtain with "Non chiamarlo amore".

Statuto continues to be a wonderful presence in the Italian music scene; their songs instantly stick in your head without being banal or predictable. Great!
I almost forgot, Statuto consists of oSKAr (vocals), NASKA (drums), MISTER NO (guitar and backing vocals), and DON ROBE (bass).