The Electric Diorama
Lifemale

Anyone who is used to watching web series around the internet (and where else? They are called WEB-series precisely for this reason!) has surely seen at least one episode of the brand new all-Italian series: "Freaks".

Well, among the various unclear points that some critics have managed to "uncover" regarding its production, one that particularly struck me was the choice of music: "We like emerging bands" or "In Rome, there are many promising bands, so why use known music?!" were, (approximately), the justifications that some of the Freaks staff gave. However, thanks to this excuse, they made a frenzied advertisement, particularly for two bands from the Roman Underground, both "raised and bred" by Nerdsound Records, namely About Wayne and Electric Diorama.

The album I propose to you today is a reissue of the successful EP with which these six guys first entered the music scene, but with the addition of two tracks: Lifemale "2009 version".

Consisting of 11 tracks, 3 of which are instrumental, this album combines typical pop / pop-punk sounds with a sufficiently original (in my opinion) use of electronics and emo, which by now, unfortunately, has become ridiculous (to use a quote).

The work opens with the instrumental "Lie / female" and then gets straight to the point with the second track "Oh Dear, Now I'm Sure, I Hate You", chosen as the first (and only) single because it manages to summarize the main features of all the tracks thanks to a catchy chorus and decent keyboard riffs combined with a distorted guitar and a very fast rhythm. Boring and somewhat useless is the third track "Shaking Goodbyes" that picks up classic emo-pop-plastic melodies; fortunately, however, the CD manages to recover with the following "I Did as": fast and catchy, it is easy to listen to without any issues. We then arrive at the fifth "Our Love will drive out on christmas", yet another banal and tiring song, perfect for twelve-year-olds looking for the "little boyfriend," which contrasts with the two excellent subsequent songs "You Brought Drama into Diorama" and "There's No quiet in there", both much more rock and more rhythmic, they manage to give a sense and bring credibility to the album despite one being instrumental and the other sung. From here on, the only noteworthy song is the penultimate instrumental "Long letters and evening dresses," as the remaining 3 songs "give us" only that sense of "heard it before" and banality that personally makes me cringe.

In conclusion:

Diorama confessed to being inspired by bands like 30 Seconds to Mars or My Chemical Romance, but as many reviewers have already pointed out, this album sounds much more like Panic! at the Disco and The Ataris in the style of "The Saddest Song". In my humble opinion, however, "Lifemale" was a good start for this band (a start that, however, was almost completely destroyed by the subsequent "Rollin', Rockin', Super Sonic!", released less than a year ago).

Rating 2.5 / 5