Velvet
Dieci Motivi

I have never watched Sanremo and I got really pissed off when, channel surfing, I saw Velvet on stage... they, who were snubbing record labels and classic methods to achieve success, now performing at the Ariston? However, the song wasn't bad...

Well, then I decided to buy a copy of the CD (yes, an ORIGINAL one!!!). "10 motivi" contains 12 songs (in the post-Sanremo version) geared towards a enjoyable pop-rock, at times harsh and sometimes very tight. The days of "Boy band" are long gone. The first track is "Dovevo dirti molte cose", a beautiful track made even more moving by the crescendo of the strings. "Luciano ti odio" is directed at a character from the old record label, and already gives us the idea that this is a sharp album both musically and lyrically ("ti colpirò sul fegato per ricordarti che non lo hai avuto mai"). "Miele" is a confession of wanting "indietro i giorni in cui io nuotavo nel miele insieme a voi....", but it's nothing special.

The first gem of the CD is "Ti direi": a series of samplings and an electric drum accompany a somber and monotonous voice that changes in the chorus; the ending is beautiful. The lyrics talk about the intention to end a relationship before it causes pain. "Sette secondi" is a poor imitation of Subsonica and leads us to another rock piece: "Un altro brutto giorno", inspired by the blackout that hit Rome a couple of years ago during the white night; "Miss America" could be compared to the latest U2 (obviously, I'm not referring to a similarity in the voices) while "Il mondo è fuori" has a British sound and does not contain expressions of "anger" except for a dig at Valeria Rossi: "il sole, il cuore, l'amore, non sono soltanto parole per nuove canzoni". "24H" deals with separation from a different perspective: "chiedo perdono per la mia ingenuità se ho amato la tua banalità, per non sentirmi solo"; "Non è sempre un gioco" has nothing special except for a good intro and lyrics that hint at sex... but it will be "I tuoi guai" that will make you ask "who are the velvet?": it starts absolutely calm, becomes melodic in the pre-chorus but explodes in the chorus; the lyrics mold with the music, stay calm in the verses, and burst alongside the distortions. After a tail of rock fury, we reach the concluding "Confessioni di una mente pericolosa"; a song perhaps avoidable if it weren't for the catchy chorus and the long 4-minute tail that saves it in extremis.

In essence, a decent album that adds nothing to Italian music, but it surely must have taken away a little naivety from Velvet giving them a bit of maturity.