Underground Life
Gloria Mundis

A Journey Through Time Out of Time

It was 1988 and the Italian New Wave was dying. Diaframma presented "Boxe," their last LP as a "band" (the song Gennaio closes the record and inaugurates Fiumani's solo career), and soon, Litfiba would release the fake live album "Pirata," the record marking their shift towards Mediterranean rock and commercial success.
Underground Life released "Gloria Mundis," a neurotic and poetic album, constantly balancing between obsessive punk sounds and decadent ballads worthy of the purest New Wave. It seems to be the summa or the epitaph of the golden decade of Italian New Wave (1978-1988).
Each song is a distant echo of a band that was the spokesperson of the New Wave, as if Underground Life had fun mocking "rival" bands, as if to say that New Wave cannot die like this, and be forgotten.
The album opens with "Automatico giorno," a schizoid ballad that mocks the dark punk of Bauhaus and the unripe punk of cccp [e nel buio percorrere / la scia fulgida dei desideri].
The second track "Al buio con te" is a powerful declaration of intent, openly shouting their anachronistic but commendable desire to resist the new sounds that are imposing themselves. Note the keyboard with a "slight" Litfiba aftertaste [che io sia una parte di vento / che ha frantumato i tuoi occhi].
"Il pensiero come anima" makes you want to jump and dance, the bass rolls in your chest making your soul vibrate with a positive lively rhythm but with a dark soul, in a play of hate and love so dear to a certain Ian Curtis, it should be listened to, not told [Non ha senso calmare le onde del tuo mare].
"Arrivi dal cielo (Blue Room)" in the demo version simply titled blue room was an obvious homage to the Ultravox! of John Foxx, even in this slightly more melodic version in Italian, it remains a tribute to Mr. Foxx (legend has it that he offered to produce this album, but was unable to due to Virgin's obstructionism, however, his name appears in the acknowledgments). [Al crepitante ritmo / di piogge radioattive].
Closing Side A is the splendid "Glass House," its slow and tormented start is only the prelude to an explosion of obsessive energy. Here the pupil surpasses the master, it was hard to compose a song in Diaframma's Siberia style, but with Glass House they succeeded fully in the endeavor, indeed they went beyond [E si odono passi delle nostre memorie / riecheggianti eternamente].
Side B opens with "Novantanovesimo piano," from here on U.L. talks about themselves, about what Italian New Wave could have been but unfortunately will not be. It's all fucking clear, obvious and limpid, Italian bands can make excellent cultured rock, they just need to believe in themselves, from now on no one else will do so [I nostri dubbi risalgono / ritornano / decisi / riemergono / come fiori marci a galla].
"I fiori ghiacciati" was the track meant to lead the album (a video was even shot for it), it's a splendid, complete piece, stylistically impeccable and with tragically current lyrics. It's like an excellent high cuisine dish, encapsulating all the stylistic features of the perfect New Wave song, perhaps it went almost unnoticed precisely because of this [Col sangue del tuo corpo / si sporcano le notti / scarnata come un fiore / la tua natura in sussulto].

"Einstein sulla spiaggia" is a vortex rendered perfectly... perfect [Le nostre notti frusciano / e noi siamo maledetti e doloranti di tanto fragoroso vuoto / Se pensi che là fuori tutto scalpita, picchia, alita e respira, schianta, grida, sussurra al punto che noi potremmo solo esserne schiacciati / E questo infinito incalzare di massa palpitante nell'aria dell'aria non cesserà mai / Abbiamo un mondo triste mon ami Qualcosa di sospeso e roteante in / eterno e sempre, sempre ci terrorizzerà / E l'universo credimi, il cosmo, l'infinito, l'imponderabile consolidarsi di una totale tristezza che ci rotea attorno / Puoi dire che lo hai sentito vanificare la tua stessa vita / E solo nella tristezza ci è dato di intuire lontanamente le cose e avvolgerle e in gruppo portarle dentro noi ].
"Angeli di distruzione" and "Tristezza ed estasi (al di là della scienza)" close an album conceived, composed, and played in an evident state of grace, everything is perfect, too perfect. It was 1988, and after Gloria Mundis, nothing would be the same again [Ti ho cercato e tu non ci se] – [Se accendi una fiaccola e guardi / non troverai / neppure una sola risposta / al nulla / né cosmi / né astri / non stelle / ma il nulla].

Giancarlo Onorato - Electric guitar, rhythm and lead, 9 and 12-string acoustic guitar, lead vocal and backing vocals, choirs, drops of water, pulse guitar, feeling, midnight thoughts.
Lorenzo La Torre - Drums, timpani, syncopations, turbulent drums, impetus.
Enzo Onorato - Electric bass, solo bass, choirs.

Additional musicians - Marco Manini (Guitar), Gabriele Mazzei (Synthesizers - Keyboards), Michele Bettel (Violin), Maurizio Signorino (Sax), Nadia Busi and Marine Schiopetti (Choirs).