Verdena
Requiem

The fourth album by Verdena has just been released, about 3 years after the "Suicidio del Samurai." This latest effort is titled "Requiem." Let's start with the album's name: the "requiem" is a Catholic rite mass celebrated in memory of the deceased, particularly for eminent ones. Even though the Verdena don't like to assign meanings to their words (simply because their lyrics aren't born from deep semantic speculation, but rather from the juxtaposition of words that mostly have a melodic value), let's try to make an inference: could they be referring to the death of God, or, based on the album cover (a worn-out sketch of themselves), to their own death? Let's leave this question hanging and move beyond this introduction.

We ask ourselves: is the Verdena album a masterpiece?

Point one: the album comes after more than three years, during which the group engaged in an infinite European tour (Germany, Switzerland, Austria) sprinkled with many personal satisfactions, recognition of their value beyond Italian borders, and also decent sales: if indeed tours help sell. So, from this viewpoint, it can be inferred that Verdena didn’t rush; they savored the moment (as they rightly should), had fun, and worked with humility. Humility yes: because a group hungry for success constantly chases explosive albums (inevitably ending up commercial), while those who "media-wise" know Verdena, know they couldn't care less about such matters. Hence, humility, but also the ability to self-manage: it’s never easy to take so much time with fans who fall into depression while waiting for the next album. Verdena did everything right: they played in Germany, composed pieces while on tour (inevitable: they always play), tested the same pieces on tour, and put everything together in their studio, intelligently and without haste. Result: an inspired album.

Point two: maturity. As fans know, Verdena debuted with a self-titled album in '99, produced by Giorgio Canali. It was followed by "Solo un grande sasso" produced by Manuel Agnelli (Afterhours frontman) and then the mature and evolutionary experience of self-production with "Il suicidio del samurai." Now it’s self-production again (even though two tracks are produced by Mauro Pagani... quite something) and it can be seen that this second attempt at self-production has shown significant improvements. Not that "Suicidio..." was a badly executed attempt, far from it, but this time it's really interesting to notice how well-arranged and produced the tracks are. Furthermore, there’s another consideration to be made, and here I refer to the next point.

Point three: confidence in their means, instinctiveness, uninhibition. These are the characteristics that, in our opinion, emerge from the first superficial listen of the album. The once shy Alberto has now become a "veteran," deserving the recognition increasingly bestowed upon him by the alternative critics. But here it isn’t really about recognition: perhaps the tour in Germany was truly a "formative" and exhilarating adventure (this last attribute deserves attention too). Alberto has learned to dare, both in guitar expression and especially vocally. This album, in our opinion, is the explosive product of Verdena's latest experiences. It truly has it all: adrenaline rush, versatility (even more than before), instinctiveness, and it's certainly a much more "direct" album than the previous ones, at least compared to the last two. A prime example? "Muori delay," the first single, breaks strongly from Verdenian norms, it's surely the song that stands out the most from Verdena's usual production: short, bold, ironic (sonically somewhat in the style of the latest Muse), perhaps it's no coincidence that this track was born in collaboration with Bugo. Here I open to the fourth point: irony. In this aspect too, they diverge from their previous works, and this characteristic seems to have become a matured trait of young Alberto. He writes the lyrics. Anyone who has listened properly to the previous albums can notice the chasm separating the first album from this one. Let's be honest: the lyrics of the first album certainly weren't Verdena's best attribute, rather they were an evident flaw. This proves that wanting to be alternative, and not indulging the audience with love tales and cliché stories, there's always something to be gained. Truthfully, starting from "Solo un grande sasso" we had the pleasure of listening to better lyrics, but this time Alberto has really outdone himself.

The lyrics are indeed wonderful: abstract just enough, effective, metaphoric, and as mentioned, ironic too. To cite an example, the familiar "Muori Delay" apparently written with Bugo (hence the humor): "sento che durerà un po', deriso dalla folla il clown…" this verse along with the entire continuation of the chorus testifies to the "ironic version" transformation undertaken by Verdena. But why not also mention in this sense "Sotto prescrizione del dottor Huxley" and the related verses: "Io sono l’hippy che fuma i giorni tuoi, puoi ridere con me, rimani solo un po'..."? Incidentally, the reference is to Aldous Huxley, a writer who also inspired Jim Morrison, who named "The Doors" after drawing from Huxley’s writings, which were fashionable among hippies because they dealt in part with psychedelic substances.

Now let’s talk about music (it’s about time) trying to piece together what’s been said: the album opens with "Marti in the sky," an original, ironic, "carefree" intro, much like the whole album, I dare say. As stated, everything is in the album: "Don Callisto", "Isacco Nucleare," are the most "rock," heavier tracks (in the style of the previous "Logorrea" and "Elefante"). "Canos" instead is a "stoner" style track, a bit "Queen of the Stone Age," with lots of carefree vibes and Spanish-like fingerpicking (just like Josh Homme's band). The "Gulliver", lasting "11 minutes and 52 seconds," is the most intricate track typical of Verdena since "Solo un grande sasso." While the wonderful "Trovami un modo semplice per uscirne" (the best of the album) and "Angie" (magnificent and moving lyrics) produced by Mauro Pagani, as mentioned earlier, stand out. Needless to say, these last two songs are real gems, both for the "expert" production, but also for the lyrics, melody, and music. But the entire album production is exceptional: so kudos to Verdena also as artistic producers. Other personal highlights: "Il caos strisciante" (perhaps the most complete song in every sense) and "Non prendere l’acme, Eugenio": simply extraordinary the main riff, and with it the whole verse (just listen to this little bit of excellent music to understand how much the Bergamo-based group has really improved).

If we must find a flaw, in an album that as seen: is composite, full of original cues, inspired, edgy, ironic, direct but also more mature, then we can refer to the fact that many songs - like "Non prendere l’acme, Eugenio" - seem somewhat incomplete, seem half songs: great cues but less refined, at least compositionally, compared to other albums. But we don't expect perfection, we are fine with it as it is. To return to the initial question: is the Verdena album a masterpiece? Indeed, yes...