The Niro
Best Wishes

After two years, The Niro returns, a Roman singer-songwriter who highlights his dual Italian (by birth)-American (by inspiration) soul right from the moniker he chose. He returns with a new album, "Best Wishes", aimed at an unknown character described in the title track, but in reality, they express something much more—though he sings in English, it's fascinating to take a look at the lyrics of this album because it's a surprise to understand what just slipped into your ears through music.

For those unfamiliar with him, the most mentioned names to describe his style are Elliott Smith and Jeff Buckley, yet adding a soft voice that reaches quite high registers and a penchant for time variations (curiously Spanish-like) within the songs. For those who have already had the pleasure of listening to the first album, nothing new will be found in this second release: like the previous one, darkly tinted ballads are unraveled one after another, where the only ray of light is given by The Niro's falsetto singing, which is truly effective.

Even though two years have passed, it seems that this "Best Wishes" was actually conceived in the same period as the first album. Everything we've already heard stylistically is reprised here in a monolithic and entirely coherent manner with the previous production: same handling of melodic progression, same variations within the pieces, same ideas used in the arrangement. Play both albums in a row, and you won't be able to tell which came first. An advantage and a flaw at the same time: on one side, The Niro leaves an unmistakable signature on his pieces, on the other, it seems the artist hasn't shown signs of evolution in the last 3 years, so the new album will appeal to those who already appreciated the first one, and early fans will certainly not be disappointed, but the detractors will hardly find points in this new work to change their minds.