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“Step right up, ladies and gentlemen”: the announcement of “the incredible spectacle of life, the incredible spectacle of death” arrives only at the sixth track, and I don't think it's a coincidence; we are in that “Abito al limite” which marks a bit the break between the two parts of this album, the first one made of cleaner sounds and lighter lyrics and the second one more in line with what Tre Allegri Ragazzi Morti had produced up until that moment. But let's take it one step at a time, to better understand the two souls of this record.
“Mostri e normali” is the second full-length effort by the renowned company of Toffolo – Molteni – Casta, dated 1999. The Friulian trio came from three self-produced EPs and an album/compendium of its initial phase like “Piccolo intervento a vivo”, which had led to a contract with a major record label: BMG Ricordi. “Mostri e normali”, therefore, is the first album of T.A.R.M. under BMG – incidentally, it will also be the last, because shortly after, they would found “La Tempesta Dischi”.
From this situation, I believe, stems the double soul of the album we are discussing. The first five tracks are very polished, I would dare say sleek, at the production level: there's some “riffs” here and there, more to follow the trend of the time than anything else (it was the moment when Prozac+ with “Acido acida” was all the rage and even Verdena enjoyed the favor of MTV), but the arrangements often take simple and safe paths. The melodies are also easy and catchy and the lyrics mostly talk about sentimental problems, although remaining above a certain level of dignity. In this part, the delicate “Occhi bassi” stands out for one reason, while a different mark is given by the irony of “Dipendo da te”.
The aforementioned “Abito al limite” introduces towards the rougher sounds that accompany the second part of the record. It's here that the three boys from Pordenone truly become “dead” again and manage to deliver some scratches, in their style, to the society that surrounds them (us): paradigmatic in this sense is “Sono morto”. With “Uomo mangia uomo” they also take the luxury of sending back the flattery of the glittering world of the star system with their “toilet deodorant” taste. That it wasn't just to strike a rebel pose (Ligabue taught us), but was a convinced critique, was demonstrated by the facts only a few months later. In these songs, the grunge-inspired sounds that characterized many of their early tracks return and Toffolo's singing also becomes more biting and spontaneous. It's a pity that the tension of the second part is broken by “Dimmi”, a graceful cover of the Smiths that perhaps marks too much of a break in the album's tracklist.
Five tracks for the first part, five for the second. The eleventh has the task of quelling every dispute and closing the “spectacle”: “Non mi manca niente” performs its task in the best way, with an atmospheric, almost hypnotic loop of over six minutes that moreover, in just two phrases, offers a life maxim capable of uprooting the consumerism that infests our society.
Summing up: we are still in the presence of a decent album, which suffers, maybe, for some choices linked to production needs, but which nevertheless has managed to leave in the legacy of TARM’s repertoire a handful of tracks to remember.
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