Verdena
Endkadenz Vol. 2

Already in the post "Requiem" period, I wondered: "but now, what will they do? Can they evolve even more?"

Let us remember that this album brought the trio into predominantly Sixties/Seventies territory for the first time, also developing the ambient noise-post rock of "Solo Un Grande Sasso". Bonham in Luca's mind, Entwistle in Roberta's, and Buckley's "Starsailor" in Alberto's head. "Wow" did nothing but dispel the fear of conventional repetition, should they ever enter the studio with this intent, and expand the sound with synths and choirs. The references to American psychedelia are clear, and as we see in the two volumes of "Endkadenz", they have achieved sounds rarely produced along the Italian peninsula.

The so-called "highs and lows" are mystified by changes in direction, evolutions, or simplifications, but nevertheless consistently weaving a different spirit from album to album. It cannot be said if there has been an improvement and growth from the eponymous first album to today, because there is always a change, a new route, which illusively entices us until a new work. They also play a lot on symbols: "Wow" is a double, and now they delight us with two volumes, released at a span of six months or so, adding suspense to the concerts of the first volume's tour.

There is a Seventies revival in the air; perhaps it's fashion, perhaps it's business, maybe it's just money we give to brands of jeans and striped sweaters, but the Bergamo trio has found a new 'workaholic' on keyboards and has encouraged the "good" of our local scene. They dust off Battisti's "Anima Latina", Alan Sorrenti's "Aria", Neil Young, and Country Joe & The Fish. The structure is similar to volume one: ballads, a standout track in the style of "Was?", and reminiscences in the riffs of Pixies ("Troppe Scuse") and Muse ("Cannibale"). In the first volume, there is not only a look toward the past but also a desire to surpass the downtempo-leaning Thom Yorke ("Funeralus" and "Alieni Fra Di Noi") and various completely new sounds for Verdena, such as the drum kit in "Sci Desertico".

I deeply believe that it's wrong to make comparisons, rankings, and similarities when listening to music, especially that obsessive inferiority complex we Italians feel towards overseas products. Here, there is no desire to surpass the peaks of Jeff Buckley or to feel cool by reviving the arabesques of Area. We are in 2015, a period, like all others, with pros and cons, from politics to society up to creating art in general. Verdena keeps us rooted, for another two or three years, to the experiments of "Dymo", the beat of "Un Blu Sincero", the excellent effect of the final choir in "Lady Hollywood", and "Fuoco Amico II", which should be heard by Melvins and Iommi.